The One With Fire In His Soul
by GodOfFighting
Summary: Hikigaya Hachiman was . . . someone else now. Something else. He doesn't know what, just that he has to survive, and that he has to deal with the issues with his past life and his current one. Now if only the cults, secret organizations, and eldritch horrors would leave him alone. AU based on the SCP universe where Hachiman has anomalous properties. Langauge / Horror Aspects / OOC
1. Doctors and Strange Family Members

Hachiman sat in the hospital room, bandages around his arms and chest. He no longer had to be plugged into IVs or tubes connected to various machines. He laid down on the hospital bed and looked up at his reflection. He had somehow grown more muscle mass but looked less healthy than he had in his entire life. After a month or so in this place did that to him. The strangest thing was he had no idea how he got into this situation. Or any idea about being in this situation. How did he know about it? What was going on?

Whatever happened to him, whatever accident or illness, it took his mind. The only thing he could remember was . . .

Why did his head hurt?

Ignoring the thumping in his skull, he sat up, waiting for the doctor to come back. He knew this but did not remember why he knew this. He no longer remembered sitting up either.

The T.V. was on, but only as background noise. He could not focus on it, because as soon as a scene passed he would forget what he saw immediately. Why couldn't he remember what was happening around him? He sighed.

"Hello, Mr. Hikigaya," the doctor spoke up from out of nowhere. Hachiman looked over at the older man. Since when was he in an English-speaking place? Since when did he understand English? "How are you feeling?"

"Fine, I guess. How did I get here?" The doctor walked over in front of him and sat down on a stool across from him.

"We'll get to that." He said. Hachiman's eye twitched in annoyance. "First, look into this please."

The doctor pulled out a small black orb from his pocket. Hachiman was caught off guard, but nonetheless followed the doctor's strange request. Several seconds passed, or was it minutes, or did any time pass at all? he couldn't remember what was going on. Nothing happened. He looked back up at the doctor.

"Is something supposed to be happening?" The doctor smiled at him.

"No, nothing is. Well, good news, Mr. Hikigaya, you're all set to go, you seem to be in perfect health!"

"Wait? But what about . . . about . . ."

"About what, Mr. Hikigaya?" The tone the doctor used was laced with a calm venom hidden behind a cold friendly smile. The type that screamed danger in every syllable. Not that he registered the words or tone at all.

"Who are you?" He asked. The doctor smiled.

"No one at all, Mr. Hikigaya. First thing in the morning, you'll be transferred back to a hospital in your home-town before release. I wish you the best of luck." The doctor stood up and began to walk out.

"Wait, that's it?! I still have questions! What happened, how did I get here?"

"Hopefully you'll never have to know that." The doctor said, an understanding smile plastered on his face. Hachiman knew it was fake. "Have a good day Mr. Hikigaya." The doctor stepped out of sight, and Hachiman forgot about him immediately.

Hachiman sat in the hospital room, bandages around his arms and chest. He no longer had to be plugged into IVs or tubes connected to various machines. He laid down on the hospital bed and looked up at his reflection. He had somehow grown more muscle mass but looked less healthy than he had in his entire life. After a month or so in this place did that to him. The strangest thing was he had no idea how he got into this situation. Or any idea about being in this situation. How did he know about it? What was going on?

Whatever happened to him, whatever accident or illness . . .

Wait.

Something.

Was.

Not.

Right.

* * *

A steady beeping aroused Hachiman from peaceful rest. He groaned, wondering when the last time he woke up to the alarm. Wait, that wasn't his alarm.

_Ugh, what's that noise?_ Hachiman thought as he sat up. He took a moment to take in his surroundings. It was a hospital room. Why wasn't he in his room? That's where he fell asleep, right? Did he have a heart attack in his sleep?

He threw the blankets off him, standing up to stretch. He felt bones popping and muscles tightening as he did so. Damn, that felt good.

"Ah, you're up." A different voice this time. In Japanese! He turned to look at the newcomer, a female doctor who looked as if she had not gotten enough sleep.

"Ah, hello."

"Well, Hikigaya-san. How are you feeling?" Did this person know him?

"I have no complaints." What the hell? Since when did he talk like that?

"It's nice to see you up and about, but I was already informed you were nearly in perfect health, so that is not too surprising."

"Ah, of course." Jesus, was he turning into . . .

Who was he thinking about?

"Although, I suggest not moving around too much unless you want to spend the next hour redoing your bandages," she motioned for him to sit down, which he did with surprisingly little resistance on his part. He looked down at his body, and the bandages covering almost 80 percent of his chest and arms. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions. The doctor handling your case told me that some extreme lapse in memory would still be present."

"I see."

"There will be a long re-adjustment period of course, but I think the sooner we get started on re-introducing you to your normal life the better it will be for you. Would you like to start now, or would you like to talk to your parents first?"

". . . I would like to see my parents, but I have some questions I would like answered before then."

"Whatever you need."

"What happened to me?"

". . . you . . . do not remember your condition?" Hachiman shook his head. Dr. Kyson shook her head. "Well, I guess I should ease you into this, then." She sighed, rubbing her forehead.

"Was I . . . bad?"

"Yes. About 5 months ago you were diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Not the prettiest of ones, mind you. It's a usually fatal degenerative brain disorder. There's no cure or treatment against it. When you were first diagnosed, the best we could do was give you opioids for the pain and hope you lived to see next year. The symptoms were . . . terrible would be doing it injustice, honestly."

"What do you mean?"

"Memory problems, lack of coordination, behavioral changes, and visual disturbances. You started to forget things and started seeing others."

"Well, that sure sounds like it sucks." She looked at him with a sad stare.

"Those are just the early symptoms. Soon the patient digresses into dementia, blindness, involuntary movements, and sometimes falls into a coma."

". . . Well, I don't know about all that, I feel fine." She smiled at him.

"Which is nothing short of a miracle, Hikigaya-san. You're extremely lucky to come out of that . . . mostly unscathed."

"Wait, it was a brain disease? So what's with the bandages?" The doctor flinched at that.

"Well, when you started deteriorating, you were prone to self-harm. Somehow, you had managed to burn yourself pretty badly." He looked down at himself again, and he could see just the faint hint of burn scars creeping out from under the bandages.

"Oh . . ."

"You're family should be here any minute now. I'm sure you're excited to back with them."

"Uh, yeah . . . I mean, I guess." He didn't know what to feel. He had been through that stuff, but he had no recollection of it. To him, he saw his parents not three days ago. Or was it four? Eh, maybe more like two?

"It has been hard on them. Especially that sister of yours, ever since you were transferred back here, there hasn't been a day when she wasn't in here with you, you know?"

". . . sister?" Hachiman looked at the doctor confused. He didn't remember having a sister? Since when was that a thing? 5 months didn't seem like long enough to have a kid? And he definitely didn't remember having a sibling? Or . . . did he? Why was the doctor looking at him like that?

"Yes . . . Komachi. Do you remember her?"

"No clue what you're on about," Hachiman said. There was that look again! Was that pity? Whatever it was ticked him off.

". . . Let's just sit here 'til they get here, all right?"

"Sure, not like I have many choices."

". . ."

". . ." This was awkward. She wasn't even speaking to me now, just looking at me like-

"_25 . . . 12 . . . 16_"

"Huh?" Hachiman perked up at the sudden speaking. The doctor looked as startled as he did.

"Are you okay, Hikigaya-san?"

"What is that?"

". . . What is what?" She looked terrified now, although he couldn't tell why.

"Nothing, I guess I'm just hearing things." He said nonchalantly, trying to play it off. Apparently, that wasn't the right thing to say to this doctor, for she was up as soon as he finished talking.

"Are you okay?" She said. Shit, she thought he was reverting or something. He needed to play that off.

"Nothing, it was just my ear ringing." He said, looking her right in the eyes. He thought that at that moment it was so easy to lie to strangers. And he wasn't sure why he was doing it.

"Hikigaya, if you're hearing things, you need to tell me. Between that and your sister-"

"Don't worry Doc, I'm fine. It's just my ear, geez." He looked away, praying she bought that. She stood over him for a few moments, probably self-internalizing what to do next. It seemed that after a minute though, she bought it and backed off, sitting back in her chair. He couldn't help but feel like he had dodged a bullet there for some reason.

He started going over his situation in his head. Man, this was such a drag honestly. Why couldn't he just go home now? Well, it's not like the situation at home would be any less depressing, cause he had a sister he had no idea about. He didn't feel like dealing with that right now, but he would have to eventually. At least that's all he had to deal with. Now that he thought about it, this didn't affect his life in any big way, not anymore at least. The only big obstacle was his new (to him at least) family member and his schoolwork. One of the many perks of being a loner was that he didn't have to worry about anyone outside of those two subjects, so his transition should be a smooth one. Except maybe Totsuka. Wait, who was Totsuka, and why did he remember him? Eh, it probably wasn't important.

Still, this whole situation has made him depressed. So much of his life, albeit much of it uneventful, was lost, not just those five months but even before that if forgetting a sibling was any indication. Not just society, but human nature in itself was cruel. Not that he didn't know that. You could trip and fall, land the wrong way and break your neck. Your life would instantly be over. Or you could just wake up one day with an illness that had no cure or treatment. You could be trapped in your head, slowly descending into a mad prison confined to your mind, a shattered person with no chance of recovery.

All in all, he was lucky. Even if he had gone through some shit, he was lucky enough not to remember it. He guessed that was God's second gift to him for fucking him up.

. . . Okay, maybe that was enough depressing thoughts for one day.

**_SLAM!_**

The sound of the door slamming open woke Hachiman out of his stupor. He looked over to the entrance, only to be nearly tackled by a mass with dark blue hair.

"_Onii-chan!_" The mass cried into his bandaged stomach. Shit, was this his sister? Damn, it looks like he'd have to deal with that right now then.

"Uh . . ." Shit, what was he supposed to say? This was bad.

"_Onii-chan!_" Not that she was listening. He looked over to the doctor for help. _Damn it, stop looking sad and help me!_

"Hachiman!" He looked up and saw his mother run up to him and hug him, moving around his sister to hug as much of him as possible. Now they were both sobbing on him, probably soaking his bandages and such.

Hachiman thought to himself that it was strange watching people get emotional over you when you couldn't even comprehend why they were crying. They had to watch him go through hell (he assumed), while to him, everything was just the same as yesterday. Even if in reality it wasn't. He looked up at his father, who was looking at him with a relieved yet wary expression. He understood, his father was never really the emotional type, but that wasn't what he was worried about. His focus was more on the stranger that was wrapped around his stomach.

Okay, just handle this lightly.

"Uh, hi, there . . ." _Shit, I forgot her name! How? The doctor told me now 5 freaking minutes ago._ Unfortunately, his sister caught on and looked up at him.

"You . . . remember me . . . don't you?" She asked, tears already streaming down her face.

"Uh . . . I'm sorry. . ." This was just as awkward as he expected.

"No . . . you said . . . you promised you wouldn't . . ." Her voice became muffled as she pushed her face back into his stomach. He looked up at his dad who seemed even sadder, although he noted there were no tears in his eyes. His mother looked, however, looked mortified.

"Hachiman . . ." She said, her voice breaking.

"I thought he was fine," His father spoke out of nowhere, looking at the doctor. Dr. Kyson sighed.

"He was cured of the disease. His brain is functioning normally and the prion protein that causes Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease has dropped to a safe level. But the damages his brain took during the process . . ."

"He'll get them back, though, right?"

"Unfortunately, the disease affected the hippocampus worse of all. While he'll have no troubles with his memory in the future, any memories he's lost up to this point are completely gone."

_Huh, that was kind of a bummer,_ he thought to himself.

"He's all set to go home, although if it's fine with you I would like to run one more test, just as a precaution."

"That's fine, whatever you need," his father answered with surprisingly little hesitation. The doctor gave him a confirmational nod, before standing up.

_This is gonna be a long night._

* * *

They ran the test, and soon he was checked out. It was surprisingly painless, although he honestly had no clue what they were doing the whole time. They did explain it, but it was a bunch of medical mumbo jumbo that he couldn't make heads or tails of, so he stopped paying attention.

Now in the back of his father's car, with his sister (Komachi, don't you dare forget that name again) wrapped on his arm with a vice grip, he stared out the window as they drove down the street. He wore a thick jacket over his bandages to protect him from the cold. Even if it was warm, he wasn't too keen on taking it off. He didn't want to see himself in that state.

_Funny, usually checking out of a hospital is supposed to be a relief, but the awkwardness levels right now are beyond comprehension._ His mother looked happy enough, though. His father appeared worried, constantly glancing at him via the rear-view mirror, although Hachiman pretended not to notice. Komachi was, for obvious reasons, taking this the worst of everyone in the car. He felt guilty about it, but in the end, there was nothing he could have done. His mind was literally in the process of killing itself. As he looked down at her, he felt the urge to say something.

"Hey . . ." He whispered to her. She seemed hesitant to respond to him but eventually looked up at him. "Are you okay?"

Sure, it wasn't the most comforting thing, but it was all he could come up with right now. He knew nothing about this girl after all. She smiled sadly up at him.

"I should be asking you that, dummy." She said with a voice that was barely composed.

"I'm sorry that . . . well, you know." He said. Man, he was not good at this.

"No, it's not your fault," she rested her head back on his shoulder and gripped him tighter, "I just . . ." She couldn't finish her sentence, but he assumed it to be something along the lines of: 'I just feel so bad for you.' At least, that's what he assumed she was trying to get across. He didn't like assumptions, all-in-all they were just uneducated guesses, but that's all he could do right now.

"Don't worry," he said, trying to put on a smile. The feeling was alien on his face. "We can just make a bunch of new memories to replace the old ones!"

_Maybe having a sibling won't be so bad. I mean, she could be cool_. His sister looked up at him.

"Don't make that face, it's creepy." She said with a teasing smile, however, the intention was lost on Hachiman.

_Huh?! I'm taking back my benefit of the doubt,_ _jerk! _Although for some reason he wasn't as hurt by that comment as he should be. He guessed it was because he was harsher on himself than the average person.

He looked back out the window and watched the buildings go by in a blur, noting things that before he would have never noticed before, or cared to look at. Even if he didn't remember his near-death condition, just knowing what happened sure gave him a new perspective on things. He was still nihilistic, that much was sure. But he was . . . different somehow. He just didn't know what it was that was different.

Soon, they pulled into the driveway and got out of the car. It was a struggle to get out when Komachi refused to let go of his arm, but he didn't have to heart to tell her to let him go. It was about dusk now, the sky a shade of orange and blue as the sun shyly peeked over the horizon in the distance, but Hachiman didn't feel all that tired. He assumed that was because he spent pretty much all day sleeping.

On his side, his sister let out an audible yawn, though tried her best to cover it up.

"It's been a long day, I think we should all get to bed," His mother said. No one opposed her point. "Hachiman, we have a surprise for you tomorrow, so we want you to get a good night's sleep, okay?"

"Okay." He agreed. _I hope I have some books or something in there, I'm not gonna be able to sleep for a while._

He started to walk up the stairs, with Komachi in tow. He saw his father out of the corner of his eye, and it looked like he wanted to say something, but he didn't. Hachiman made it to the upstairs hallway before he stopped. He looked at all the identical doors. Komachi must have noticed his hesitation.

"Um . . . That one's yours." She said, pointing to one of the doors.

"O-Oh, thanks." He said embarrassed, before opening his door. "Well, goodnight." She looked up at him with a face full of disappointment.

"Goodnight . . ." She said after a second but made no move to let go of him. He just stood there awkwardly, waiting for her to get a hint. "O-oh, right." She said as she finally let go of him.

He walked into his room and gave her a final look before closing the door behind him. The only sound was the click of the door, and then silence. He breathed a sigh of relief before examining his room. Strangely, it was just as he remembered it, which was ironic given he didn't remember where it was. The books were the same, his bed was. He walked over to his desk, where a phone lay charging on the top of it. He turned it on.

_Of course, it's 100. It_ has_ been charging for five months._ As the lock screen popped up, he found another dilemma. _And of course, I forgot my password. Honestly, I would be fine if that was all I forgot._

He put the phone down, but as soon as he turned his back to it, it vibrated. He turned back to it and picked it up.

_20 messages! Who the hell was messaging me so much?__ Oh, "Yuigahama?" I could barely find her name in all these goddamn emojis. Wait, why is a girl texting me?! I need to unlock this thing! Actually, now that I think about it, it's probably just a relative. It's not like I had any friends._

As he thought that, he got notifications for 4 other message chains.

_All girls! What the hell?! Damn this phone for not letting me read it! Wait, "Totsuka?" I remember that name. And . . . "Kawasaki?" That sounds vaguely familiar . . . I think. The first part does at least._

He decided he would save that for another time, and put the phone down. He walked over to the bookshelf . . . and turned right back around.

_Okay, this shouldn't be too hard, right? It's a pattern password, too. That shouldn't be too hard since I'm usually "energy-efficient." Should be something really simple . . ._

_Ooor not._ He thought as his phone read out the message "this phone will be locked for the next hour." Oh, well, he would just read then. This day was a rollercoaster from start to finish, he needed a break from it. He didn't know how much more excitement his heart could take with this.

He would deal with all that complicated stuff tomorrow.

* * *

**As of right now, I don't have any official pairing for this story, although I do think there should be one if only to add more drama. Let me know your thoughts on this, please.**


	2. They're Trying Too Hard

f"_25 . . . 12 . . . 16 . . ._" _Those numbers again._

_"Good morning, Mr. Hikigaya. How are you feeling?" An exceptionally cheery voice called out to him in the darkness._

_". . . what did you do to me?"_

_"Don't worry about all that, now. How are you feeling?"_

_". . . Hungry . . . why is everything dark?"_

_"You've seemed to burn your eyes out of their sockets. Don't worry, we'll fix that soon enough, but in the meantime, do you remember how the tests went?"_

_". . . burning . . . everything was . . . burning . . ."_

_"Perhaps you should ask him after his vocal cords have healed, Dr. Bright." A second voice. This one was . . . scared. No, just nervous, he thought._

_"Nonsense, no time like the present after all. Say, remind me again how he did in the test with 049?"_

_"The doctor's anomalous properties did not affect him. It's been extremely hostile ever since it 'failed to cure a patient.'"_

_"I see, I see. Hey, why don't we toss him in that cell with 072 and see what happens?"_

_"Dr. Bright-"_

_"I know, I know. The goddamned ethics committee." He sounded annoyed._

_"However, we _have _been cleared to introduce him to 999."_

_"Awww, but that's so boring!"_

_". . . where . . . why am I . . ._ _AA**AAAA**_**AAAHHHH!**_"_

_"Oh, shit, he's done it again. OI, CAMPBELL, GET THE EXTINGUISHER! Campbell? Oh, shit, should've told you to back up. Whoops."_

* * *

Hachiman opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling, drenched in sweat and breathing hard. What the hell kind of a dream was that? Why was he sweating so much? Why did his head hurt so much?

He shakily sat up, his stomach feeling weak and his head was light. Was he sick? He covered up last night, so he shouldn't be. Maybe he should just get some food, he was feeling hungry. Unreasonably hungry. He took off his sweat-soaked shirt and made his way to the closet, taking out a fresh shirt. He didn't put it on yet, first, he would freshen up in the bathroom. On his way, he grabbed a set of bandages, although why they were in his room he had no idea. As soon as he stepped in the bathroom, he looked in the mirror, and . . .

"Were my eyes always like that?" He wondered out loud. He stared at himself for a while, before shaking it off and getting to cleaning himself up.

The cool water felt amazing on his face. He scrubbed away all the sweat off his body. Now, the moment of truth. He slowly unwrapped all the bandages from his body, not paying too much attention to the brown color they advertised. As they fell, more and more of his scars showed themselves.

. . .

His body was fucking horrifying.

Burns covered most of his upper body, and through those burns, you could see scars from cuts of various sizes. It was like someone took scissors to a painting canvas and then covered it in a light brown film. His arms didn't have too much burn scarring, but he must have cut himself tons of times with all the cuts that were over them, some of them still scabbed over. He was lucky he had stayed away from his face.

He chuckled to himself.

_Lucky? Yeah, right. Look at this. What the hell was wrong with me? _

That's when it truly started sinking in. How messed up he was. He grabbed the sink in an attempt to steady himself as his breath grew out of control. He was supposed to be dead, but some stretch of luck he wasn't. Or maybe it was misfortune. He hadn't quite decided which yet. How much of his life did he lose? It was more than 5 months, that was for damn sure. His sister, his life, what else?

He took in a breath and started to re-wrap himself. Maybe it would be better if he just kept wearing these bandages. Scars never healed, right? He didn't want anyone seeing this part of him. This broken part . . . this dead part. Because that's what it was, truly. Whatever person he had been, was all but dead.

He had convinced himself that there was no fate worse than becoming a corporate slave. He laughed at himself. Even when he was more mature than he should have been at that age, he was so naive. He would take being a corporate slave over being trapped in his delusional mind any day. Even if he didn't remember it, just the idea of it was enough to horrify him. Then again, anyone could grow complacent if all they thought about was how much worse everyone else had.

You might be a corporate slave, but at least you weren't being chopped up alive and served in a fucking stew.

_. . . Where the hell did that come from?_

When he was finished he threw out the bandages and went downstairs, running on autopilot. He wanted something to eat but didn't see anyone downstairs, so breakfast wasn't prepared. That was fine.

As he moved around, he started thinking about what was going to happen today. He wanted to just lay around and be left alone, but . . . that felt wrong now, for some reason. He had a sister than he needed to get to know, after all. His desire for normalcy outweighed his laziness at the moment. He sighed inwardly.

_Geez, this whole thing is a mess._ He thought as he took a bite of his omelet. _How am I-_

Wait, omelet?

Hachiman looked down in front of him to find there was indeed a freshly made omelet in front of him. Sitting at a fully set dining table, with a total of four freshly made omelets. He blinked. He _did_ remember making them (that was a good sign), but it was scary that he did all that on auto-pilot.

_Note to self: Never use Auto-Pilot again._ He thought. When did he even learn to use Auto-Pilot? He decided that it didn't matter.

Oh, well, the food was made, and he wasn't about to let it go to waste.

As he ate, he heard the rushing of footsteps come down the stairs. He stopped eating as he saw his little sister burst into view, on the verge of hyperventilating. She had this terrified look on her face as she stared at him.

". . . Morning." Hachiman said awkwardly.

"You . . . weren't in your room." She said, visibly trying to calm herself down. _Of course, the first thing she would have done is to check on me. Huh, guess she really is my sister . . . okay, that was kind of a dick thing to think._

"Yeah, I, uh, got hungry so I made some breakfast." He said, gesturing to the set table. Komachi looked back and forth between her brother and the table.

"It looks good." She said hesitantly, sitting down on the opposite end of him. She was eyeing the food around her and eyeing him as he was eating. He couldn't blame her for being hesitant, he had just been insane not a month ago. Still, though, give him the benefit of the doubt. She took a hesitant bite, and after the first, she must have concluded it was safe because she started eating herself.

A tense silence fell over them as they sat there. Hachiman had no idea what to say to this . . . he didn't want to use the word stranger, but that was what she was to him, all in all. He knew nothing about her, and he felt guilty for that. It wasn't like it was his fault, but still.

"I had no idea you could cook anything besides curry and rice." She said, taking a stab at a joking tone. Even if it fell through, the attempt was enough to get Hachiman to smirk.

"You wound me. I'm not so useless as to only know one dish." She rolled her eyes at that playfully.

"My onii-chan has always been useless." She said although he could tell she was joking. Maybe.

"That was so low in points." He mumbled, stuffing another piece of omelet into his mouth. Using chopsticks felt weird to him for some reason, but he just assumed it was from the time he hadn't used it. After seeing himself in the mirror, he would have guessed they would've banned him from any kind of utensil. When his comment was met with silence, he looked up to see his sister looking at him strangely. "What?"

She gave him a soft smile, slightly tearing up.

"Nothing, onii-chan," She said, starting to eat again. He looked at her weirdly before shrugging it off and starting to eat again.

* * *

"Where are we going?" Hachiman asked. His parents had dragged him out of the house not 3 hours after breakfast. He was currently sitting in the back of his parent's car with Komachi, being taken against his will to an unknown location. _Send in a strike team to help me, please!_

"The mall." His mother answered from the passenger seat. He raised an eyebrow.

"Did I use to go there a lot?"

"Not really," Komachi answered for her, "but I had a bunch of onii-chan's friends go over there. I thought it would be good for you to meet them . . . again. Just to get your spirits up, ya know?"

"My friends?" He had friends? No, that couldn't be right. Friends were something he was strictly against. Or was he? How the hell was he supposed to know?! _THIS SUCKS!_

"Yeah, I called Yui-chan and told her to get everyone down here! Think of it as a big welcome home party!" She smiled sweetly at him, and he couldn't help but smile back.

"That's nice and all, but . . ." He trailed off, not knowing how to phrase it exactly. Luckily his sister seemed to read his mind.

"I already told her of your . . . condition. They understand what might happen. And hey, even if you don't remember some of them, you can just make new memories, right?"

". . . Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Of course I am."

"Don't get cocky." He said tonelessly, causing Komachi to giggle at him.

"In any case, you should be happy to see them even if they don't remember. Exams are coming up for them, so they're super-stressed."

"Exams?"

"Yeah. They're getting to the end of their first year, so they're studying really hard for exams, but they took a break just to see you."

"Huh. That's . . . nice." He said. He didn't know how to feel about that. Even if he did have friends, it couldn't be that many people. He wasn't one of those Riajuus after all. He knew Yui (He guessed because Komachi just said her name) Kawa . . . something. For one of his friends, he sure had a hard time remembering her name. And of course, Totsuka.

Wait, why was he blushing now?

"Yeah. And, Hachiman?" He looked at her. "While it might be a little weird at first, they do care about you, even if . . . some of them have a strange way of showing it."

Oh, so his "friends" were weirdos. That makes a lot more sense.

"It'll be fine. They were my friends for a reason, right?" He said. She smiled at him.

"Yep. Oh, we're here!"

* * *

_What the hell! Why are there so many girls?!_

They had yet to notice him yet as he and his family were walking up, but he went immediately to work observing them. The one with pink hair was talking excitedly to a long, blue-haired one, who looked a tad uncomfortable. To her side, a short blonde was talking with almost as much enthusiasm. He could get a pretty good read on them, the middle one was a loner, and the two others were popular nice girls.

To the side, the only guy in the group was this weirdo in an overcoat moving way too excitedly, talking to a girl who looked like she was trying her best to hold the conversation but still majorly uncomfortable. Hachiman tried to get a read on them but was immediately distracted by the white-haired angel that was trying her best to stay interested in the conversation.

_She's so cute! No one has a right being that cute! What the hell!_

He had to look away before he got caught staring. The last thing he needed was his . . . friends, calling him a perv. He then turned his eyes to the fountain, where two girls stood silently. One seemed a bit older and looked a lot like the one pinkie and blondie were talking to. He could tell with a glance that she was hiding something. The mask she was wearing right now was so convincing even he almost missed it, but he knew fake when he saw it. She was watching the group interact with a sweet smile. Almost everyone had some kind of mask on, save the white-haired girl in the back and the gift from god currently distracted by what was no doubt an otaku.

_Well, Komachi did warn me they were weirdos, so . . ._

The other one looked as if she didn't want to be there at all. A loner like him, no doubt. He could see how they would be friends if they ever actually managed to get on a speaking level before.

"Hikki!" The pink one suddenly yelled when she noticed him. The sheer volume that she managed to reach caused him to slightly flinch. The whole group of them turned as one to look at the loner currently making his way towards them. With the weight of 7 pairs of eyes on him, he started to feel a little uncomfortable.

_I have no idea who any of these people are._ He thought to himself. In an awkward attempt to greet them, he raised a hand to wave hello.

"Y-Yo." He said uncomfortably. _Damn it, that was such a lame greeting!_

He was surprised to see that almost all of them immediately looked relieved and started rushing to meet him.

_Oi, too fast, give me some time to process here!_ He thought as the wave of words came crashing on him. They were all talking at once, so he couldn't make out even a complete sentence. The chorus of voices overwhelmed him and drowned out any intelligent thoughts he could have made. He looked between the faces that crowded around him as he tried to form some kind of coherent phrase.

"Uh . . . I . . ." Even as he tried to say something, they didn't let up. Couldn't they see he was freaking out right now?

"H-Hey, everyone!" The white-haired angel screamed out, effectively shutting up everyone else. "I think we might be coming on too strong here. H-He looks uncomfortable."

_Thank you, my heavenly savior!_ The group looked at Hachiman for a second, some tried to play it off awkwardly while others straight up looked guilty. _Wait, why does the older one look like she's having fun? She's gonna be a problem, isn't she?_

"S-Sorry, Hachiman. You must be overwhelmed right now." She said, tentatively fixing a stray strand of hair behind her ear. _Stop being so cute, dammit._

"I-It's no problem, uh . . ." _Think, man, dammit. She must be somewhat familiar, how could you forget a beauty like this?! Think! _Oh well, let's just give it a shot in the dark. Hopefully, his luck wasn't too rotten at the moment. ". . . Totsuka?"

She looked at him wide-eyed before her face morphed into the most breath-catching smile he had ever seen. At that moment, he swore on his life that he would do everything in his power to protect that smile.

"You remembered me! I'm so happy!" _I could die a happy man right now._

Suddenly he felt guilty, looking over at his sister. Fortunately, she didn't show any sign of being hurt that he remembered a school friend more than he did her, although he felt awful about it. Instead, she was smiling at him.

"Well, that makes sense. Totsuka-kun is your closest guy friend, Hikki!" Someone said, too chipper for the horrible news they had just delivered.

_. . . Huh?_

Hachiman looked closer at the angel smiling at him. There was no way . . . was there? No, it wasn't possible. A guy wouldn't possibly be this cute. It wasn't scientifically possible.

"Senpai, you're staring." Someone said. Hachiman looked over to see the blonde girl pouting angrily at him.

"Senpai?" He asked questioningly. The pout was immediately washed from her face. There was a split-second of . . . something, he didn't know what, before an awkward smile took over her features.

"Y-Yeah. You're my Senpai, Hikigaya-kun," she said nervously. "Do you remember me?"

He looked at her harder. He tried, he really did, but nothing about her stirred up anything in his mind. He tried for a little while longer before he could tell that his gaze started to make her uncomfortable. Giving up, he simply bored.

"I'm sorry, I don't." He said simply. Geez, he felt like shit right now.

"O-Oh, it's fine, Senpai." The tone of voice suggested that it was not fine. "You don't have to apologize."

He stood up and saw that everyone was suddenly thousand times more uncomfortable. He shifted from foot to foot, looking between everyone.

"U-Um, my name's Isshiki Iroha." She said, bowing. "It's nice to meet you."

_. . . well, at least it didn't make this any more awkward._

"N-nice to meet you, too." He said. Geez, this was gonna be painful, wasn't it? Troublesome. "I hope we can become good friends."

"Of course." She straightened and smiled at him.

He looked around the group. Suddenly not everyone was so keen to interact with him. Not that he particularly blamed them. He looked to the loner in the back. She made eye contact with him, attempting to appear uninterested unconvincingly. Wait, that stirred something. _Black Lace? What, why did that pop-up? Wait, I know it. Her name was the other one I remembered._

"Kawa . . ." He started. She perked up immediately, full attention on him. "Kawa . . . Damn it, I remember, I do." He tried massaging his temple to quell the migraine that was coming up. "Kawa . . . something, what was it?"

"Stop." Her voice interrupted his brain-storming session. "D-Don't stress yourself." She wasn't making eye contact anymore, looking away embarrassed. "Kawasaki Saki."

". . . right. Sorry." He said. Everyone else around them seemed somehow even more depressed, either looking away sadly or giving him looks of pity.

_Stop looking so sad, wasn't this supposed to be a_ _reunion?_

"M-My names Yuighama Yui." The one with pink hair said. She bowed to him. "It's nice to meet you." He blinked, looking over at the peppy girl.

"You may call me Zaimokuza Yoshiteru." The weirdo in the overcoat said, striking a pose.

"My name is Yukino Yukinoshita." The first loner he noticed said.

"I'm her big sister, Haruno." The older one smiled. _Ah, yes. The problem one. I should keep an eye on her._

"It's nice to meet you all." He said.

The earlier tension was gone, replaced by relieved looks and, dare he say, even genuine happiness on his part. He never _did_ have friends before, at least that he remembered. Except for that one in middle school . . .

_Of course, out of everything in my life I remember_ that. He thought, somewhat less happy now. Still, this had gone a lot better than he expected.

"Thank you all for coming," his sister said from behind him. "We'll leave him in your care for now."

"Huh?" He said, turning to his sister. However, before he could further question her, he felt someone grab his arm. He turned back around to see Totsuka had gotten ahold of him.

"Let's go, Hachiman!" He said excitedly, smiling at the confused teen. _God is laughing at me right now._

He let himself be dragged into the small crowd, his friends that were strangers chatting away excitedly around him. He could tell that tonight, while it might be good for everyone, was going to be extremely annoying to say the very least. He didn't care as long as Totsuka didn't let go-

_Boy, Hachiman! He's a boy! Get it together!_

* * *

"Itadakimasu!" A chorus of teens said around them as they dug into the newly arrived food. The first stop in this place was some kind of restaurant. Hachiman thought the smell was familiar, but that was about it. They dragged him to a large booth, sticking him between the Yuighama and Yukino. While he didn't necessarily mind, he sensed a tension between the two of them as soon as they sat down. It was so awkward that he could barely enjoy the food he was eating.

_Did I drag them out in the middle of a fight or something? They couldn't have a problem with me, right? Wait, maybe they could. But what did _I _do?_

"So, Hachiman," the problem one spoke up, "how's your food?" Out of the corner of his eye, Yukinoshita glared at her sister, but he decided to ignore that for now. It must be a family problem, and he was not about to get involved in that.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, it's good. The pasta could use a little more salt, though." He said, looking down at his plate. While it was true the pasta was kind of dry, he wanted the whole tension in the air to stop.

_Why can't you just separate these two? Seriously, does no else see how awkward this is?! I can't be the only one, someone please help me! Totsuka, you calmed down everyone before! Weird guy, do something to distract them!_

"Hachiman!" Someone yelled.

"Huh?" He whipped his head up and saw that everyone was staring at him with faces full of worry.

"Are you okay, Hachiman? You went kind of silent there," his angel asked. He tried to keep the blush from his face.

"O-Oh? Sorry, I guess I was just spacing out." He laughed trying to play it off, but it seemed now everyone was just as awkward as him. _You guys act weird too easily!_

"You sure you're all right?" The blond one, Isshiki, asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just kind of . . . awkward right now, ya know?" He said. _Damn it, you moron, why'd you say that?_

"Yeah, it's tense, you knoooow." She said, dragging out the last word. Hachiman blinked in confusion.

"I'm not gonna respond to you talking like that." He said. _I can put up with a lot of things, but not that. My pride won't allow it._

"Senpai, that's mean." She pouted angrily.

"Do you usually pout that much?" He thought out loud. She huffed and crossed her arms, looking away.

"If you think pointing out my cute behavior is gonna get you on my good side, you're sorely mistaken."

"Okay, now I know you're messing with me." He dead-panned. She turned back to him and stuck her tongue out with a smile and a wink. "How old are you, twelve?"

All of a sudden, Yukino started chuckling next to him. He turned to her.

"What's so funny?" He asked. She waved him off.

"Nothing." She said, all tenseness gone.

". . . Riiiiight."

"Now you're copying me? Geez, Senpai."

"Don't insult me like that." He said, turning to her. She laughed, and he blinked in confusion. Suddenly, everyone sitting around him started chuckling, save Kawasaki.

"You never do change, you know that?" The problem one said. He deadpanned at her.

_These people are weird. _He thought as he reached over to grab the salt shaker. Shaking some on his pasta, it seemed that whatever weirdness was there before was gone, and everyone was now talking or cracking jokes, save the weird guy that was ignored by almost everyone. Not that it seemed to have any effect on him. He did notice that almost everyone kept stealing glances at him. He figured that everyone wanted to say something to him, but didn't want to do it in front of the group. Of course, they would, although he wasn't looking forward to that.

He wasn't quite ready for what was no doubt going to be an overly-emotional talk.

"Is everyone finished?" Isshiki asked. He blinked and looked down at the half plate of food still in front of him.

"Actually, I'm still-" He started.

"I think we're all good," The problem one said, "Let's do some window shopping!"

"That sounds great! What do you guys think?"

"Huh?" Yuighama said, surprised. "O-Oh, that sounds cool."

"Yes, I require new garments," Zaimokuza said, standing up. Everyone else followed suit.

_. . . Okay, I guess, that's fine._ He got up and left his food there. _It's not like I was hungry or anything, ya know?_

"I-I'll be there in a second," Kawasaki said, not moving.

"Okay, we'll be outside. Come on, Hikki!" Yuighama said, dragging him out of his booth.

They stood outside for a minute, waiting for her. Hachiman stood awkwardly as Zaimokuza attempted to talk with him, although he couldn't even begin to keep up with him, what with all his movements and weird phrases. Geez, this guy just didn't chill at all, did he?

"I'm ready." He turned and saw Kawasaki walking to them with a bag in her hand.

"Okay, let's go!" Isshiki said, effectively dragging the group along.

Kawasaki ended up right next to him, as opposed to her past spot on the outside. He looked down at the bag.

"Leftovers?"

"Yeah. For my siblings."

"That's cool."

And that was the end of that conversation.

They dragged him around different stores and such. He found no pleasure in window shopping, but even he had to admit it was nice to be surrounded by people who seemed to like him. Although he didn't know yet what they were really like behind whatever masks they had up right now. It seemed almost everyone had some kind of persona on right now, save for Kawasaki, Zaimokuza, and of course Totsuka.

"Hachiman! Let's go over there!" Totsuka said, grabbing onto his arm and pointing to some kind of clothing store. It mostly had hoodies and shirts from what he could see, but who was he to say no when Totsuka asked so nicely?

"S-Sure, let's go," he said. Totsuka started to pull him away, the group following close behind.

"_25 . . . 12 . . . 16 . . ._"

He ignored it this time. He wasn't hearing things. He wasn't.

The group took this time to play "dress-up Hachiman," picking out different shirts, jackets, and hats they thought would look good on him. Unfortunately, they all seemed to be too small for him, which was weird. He was . . . Well, before all this at least, he was around average height and super skinny. Looking at himself, he noticed he was a lot more muscular than what he used to be, although he couldn't imagine for the life of him why. Maybe the "crazy Hachiman" just liked working out. Of course, he wasn't the only one to notice.

"You got taller, Hikigaya-san," Yukinoshita said.

"Oh, she's right! You two used to be at eye-level!" Yui said, way too interested in the new subject. Hachiman was at least half a foot over her now.

"Well, I guess I just grew." He shrugged off their comments. While it was a difference, it wasn't something to make a big deal out of.

"Hachiman, try this on!" Totsuka said, showing him a sports jersey. Hachiman took it without hesitation.

"Sure, one sec." He shed his outer jacket, leaving only his short-sleeve short. He slipped on the jersey. It was nice and baggy on him, which he liked, even if he wasn't much of a sports guy. He looked at Totsuka.

"Well?" The angel wasn't making eye contact, instead opting to look at the ground.

"I-It looks good, Hachiman," He said timidly.

That would have excited him if Totsuka didn't look so sad. They all looked uncharacteristically sad again, not looking at him. He looked down at himself, did it look that bad-

Shit.

He forgot about the bandages.

The jacket was the only thing covering the bandages on his arms, and the short-sleeve shirt did nothing to hide the injuries on them. Looking back up at them, he must have figured they knew why they were there. _Stop making things so weird, it's not like I'm still crazy!_

"I think I'll get it," Hachiman said, slipping it off and putting his jacket back on. _Even if I don't like sports, Totsuka picked it out for me, how can I say no?_

"Y-You don't have to," Totsuka said, looking up timidly at him. _I'm starting not to care whether you're a guy or not, Totsuka. Get it together, Hachiman, don't let yourself go to the dark side!_

"Nah, I like it." He said, smiling. He reached in his pocket for his wallet-

_Oh, right, no money. Well, this is awkward. I can't put it back now, but I can't ask one of them to buy it for me. Think, Hachiman._

"You probably don't have any money with you, right?" Isshiki piped up from the back. He looked over at her with almost a glare. "Don't worry, I'll get it for you, Senpai."

"You sure?" He asked hesitantly.

"Of course. _Buuuut_," of course, "you'll owe me a favor."

"That's awfully sly of you, ya know." He said tonelessly. She giggled.

"I knooooow," she grabbed it from him and skipped off to the cashier. He blinked, feeling the glares from most of the girls there. _What the hell did I do?_

He looked down at Totsuka, who was shifting from foot to foot uncomfortably. Yui was pretending to look at some shirts while simultaneously glancing at Hachiman. Yukino and Kawasaki were just glaring in different directions, Haruno seemed to be having the time of her life, and Zaimokuza seemed completely unaware of the situation, looking at a jacket in the back whispering about some kind of "demon eye." Hachiman didn't even want to know what that was about.

"You guys . . . good?" He asked. No one seemed to respond except Totsuka.

"O-Oh, we're fine, Hachiman. No need to worry," He said, waving his arms. _You're too kind for your own good, ya know?_

"Indeed, Hachiman," Zaimokuza said, returning wearing the jacket he was eyeing, which was like the one he had just had but black. "However, the wind howls tonight with something evil. I can feel a battle brewing in the underworld, it grieves my arm. . . I mean, hand." He said, posing dramatically._ Don't try to play it off, dumbass._

". . . right." _Chuunibyuo. At least that should distract them all-_

He shifted to see them and nothing had changed.

_What the hell?! What's their problem?_

"Here you go, Senpai," Isshiki returned, giving him the shirt in a plastic bag.

"Do you have a receipt?" He asked. She blinked in confusion.

"Why? You're not gonna just turn around and return a gift, are you? That's low, Senpai."

"Of course not, Totsuka picked this out for me," He said, not noticing the blush on said boy's face, "I just didn't like the way you said 'favor.' You sounded like it would be something shady, so I'd rather just pay you back." She backed up in mock horror.

"I'm offended, Senpai. Do you think so little of me?" He rolled his eyes and looked behind her.

"Oi, how much did she pay for this?!" He yelled to the cashier.

"About 1300!" He yelled back.

"Thanks!" Hachiman, satisfied, turned back to the clothes.

"H-Hey!" Isshiki protested behind him, although he ignored it. He didn't appreciate her trying to take over Totsuka's gift, even if it really wasn't a gift. As he thought that, something caught his eye.

"Hey, Totsuka, come here." He said. The white-haired boy appeared next to him.

"Yeah?" Hachiman turned, with a medium-sized hoodie in his hands.

"Try this one on."

"Huh? O-Okay, if you think I should," he said, timidly taking it from Hachiman.

As he put it on, Hachiman noticed that he didn't fill it up quite all the way. Must be small. Seriously, with how petite and cute he was, no wonder Hachiman thought he was a girl. If he was, at this point Hachiman probably would have confessed and gotten rejected immediately. Still, it looked good on him, an almost pearl white jacket with the small emblem of a silver rabbit on the left side of the chest. _The image does fit him_.

"Let me get you a smaller one," he said, about to turn.

"I-I'm not that small," Totsuka protested, pouting. "I like this one just fine!"

"Oh? That's cool, then." He said.

"Hikki!" Someone said. He turned to see Yuighama had put on a jacket of her own. "W-What about me?"

"Hmm . . . it looks good, but . . ." He turned to look back at the wall. Ah, there. He grabbed one and approached her. A pink sporty jacket that was covered in bows. It had a nice mix of "pretty girl" with "sporty girl." He didn't think it matched her personality, but it surely complemented the outfit she had on.

"I think this one would really look nice on you." He said, holding it out to her. She grimaced at his words.

"That's kind of a creepy thing to say, Hikki."

. . . what?

_Weren't you the one who wanted my opinion? What the hell kind of comment was that?_

"Uh . . . sorry," he said, backing down. He put the jacket back and walked away, pretending to look at other clothes. What the hell was her problem? He guessed they just weren't that good of friends. He stealthily stole a glance behind him, seeing that she looked just as shocked as she felt. _Good, feel bad! I didn't do shit wrong!_

He took off a shirt from the rack, looking at it. He wasn't about to offer it to anyone else, given the reaction he just got. Seriously, if she thought he was creepy, why'd she even bother to show up?!

"Hikigaya-san." Someone said behind him. He turned to see the long-haired loner.

"Oh, Yukinoshita-san, right?"

"Correct. May I speak with you?"

"Sure."

"In private."

"Uhhh . . . okay?"

She grabbed him by the wrist, dragging him out of the store. He shot confused looks at everyone as he passed them, though no one would make eye contact. He avoided looking at Yuighama after that comment.

She dragged him into the middle of the mall, still within eye-shot of everyone inside but far enough where everyone could hear.

"W-What's up?" He said, a little embarrassed by being asked to speak in private by an admittedly pretty girl, even if she did come off cold. She turned to him with a glare, which he guessed was supposed to intimidate him.

". . . Hikigaya-san, do you truly not remember me?" She asked, looking him dead in the eye.

"N-No, sorry."

". . . I see. I suppose there's no helping it then." She said, then walked back to the store. He blinked in confusion.

"W-Wait, did you bring me out here just to ask me that?" She looked at him behind her back with a smirk, before walking back into the store.

_Okay, I think it's time to go home. Wait, I don't have a phone, shit. Uuuuuuuuggggghhhh._

He walked back into the store, catching glances from everyone, save Yukinoshita. What was the point of all that? He looked over at Kawasaki, but she immediately looked away from him, refusing eye contact. Well, that was fine, like this night wasn't shit enough at this point. He would just go talk to Totsuka, that should cheer him up.

"O-Oh, my dad just texted me, I have to go." _No, you were literally the only thing keeping me sane at this point! _"I'll see you later, Hachiman."

The white-haired angel waved to him, before jogging out the store. Hachiman noticed he carried a plastic bag with him.

"Senpai, let's go somewhere else!" _Absolutely not!_

"Actually, I'd really rather go home right now." He said, sighing. "I'm kind of tired."

"O-Oh, okay, Senpai," she said, so caught off guard her persona slipped off for a split second.

"See you guys," he said, not bothering to hear any of their goodbyes before walking out the store. He got about 15 steps before stopping and sighing aloud. He walked back into the store. "Can someone call my parents, please?"

"O-Oh, right." Yuighama pulled out her phone and started texting away.

He stood there awkwardly as he waited for her to finish up. He would not be doing this again, that was for damn sure. It was a wonder to him why his family thought this was a good idea. He sighed inwardly. This was going to be troublesome to deal with, wasn't it?

"They said they're just outside," Yuighama said. "We can walk you over there if you want?" She posed it more as a question, looking at him timidly. If he wasn't so exhausted at this point, he would've called that cute.

"Sure, thanks." He walked out of the store, the others following close behind him.

They made their way through the mall in awkward silence, the others dragging their feet behind him as he tried to keep a decent pace. They wanted to spend more time with him, but all he wanted was a break. There was more social interaction in this last hour than he was used to in a week. He couldn't wait to get home and just lie in bed, letting the blanket cover him and block out all the annoying people of the world.

"Hey, Hikki." Yuighama's voice broke him out of his stupor. He looked over at the pinkette.

"yeah?"

"You know I didn't mean it, right? When I said you were being creepy? I was just teasing you, ya know? I didn't think it was actually creepy."

". . . It's fine." He said, looking back upfront. And it was. After all, it wasn't anything he wasn't used to by now.

"Okay." She said quietly, falling back a bit. He just didn't have any other way to respond at the moment.

"_25 . . . 12 . . . 16 . . ._"

_Quiet, you._

"Hikigaya." Someone else said. He turned to see Kawasaki looking at him. In her hand was an outstretched food container.

"Huh?"

"You didn't finish eating, so I grabbed your food." She said. Short and curt, a nice change of pace compared to . . . well, everyone else. He took it from her with a smile.

"Thanks, Kawasaki-san." She nodded in acknowledgment, and that was the end of that interaction. That was a lot better than what he had been held victim to this entire morning, what with the sly Isshiki, the annoying Zaimokuza, and the _extremely _confusing Totsuka. He stole a look behind him to see most of the girls weren't exactly pleased with that interaction, save Haruno. Of course, they all played it off immediately when they saw him looking at them. Zaimokuza was awkwardly trying to start a conversation with somebody, but no one was responding as he spat out weird fantasies at an impossible rate.

_Note to self: Avoid that one like the plague._

They stepped outside, where he saw his sister waiting with his parents. Finally, an escape route.

"Well, I guess I'll see you guys around." _Or not. Honestly, if I can avoid more weirdness like that, that would be much obliged._

"Hikigaya-san," Yukinoshita said. _Just let me leave! _He internally pleaded. ". . . do you know when you'll be returning to school?"

"Uh . . . no, I don't." _Why are you even asking me that?_

"I see. Well, we will be looking forward to your return, whenever that may be." She bowed to him. _You're way too formal right now, weirdo!_

"Thanks. See you later." He said, turning and walking straight to his parents' car, without waiting for any other weird farewells from these people.

_Of course, a loner like me would attract a bunch of weirdos. Well, maybe that's too harsh . . . or not._

* * *

"How was it, onii-chan?" His sister asked him as they rode back. He sank back into his seat at the interruption of his silent ride. He replayed the events over and over.

"Strange." He said. "They're all kind acting kind of weird around me, no matter what I tried."

"Oh? Well, I guess I can understand them. I mean, I wouldn't know what to do in that situation."

"Yeah, I guess. Although . . ."

"Hm?"

"It's just, I think it would've been better if I was eased into it, ya know? They were . . . kind of overwhelming." Komachi gave him a supporting smile.

"Oh, is that so? I'm sorry, I just wanted you to be happy again." She said, twiddling her thumbs. He smiled at her.

"It's fine, Komachi. If anything, it was more awkward than anything else." He chuckled, and she brightened immediately.

"Don't worry, onii-chan. I'm sure everything will be back to normal in no time." she gave him a thumbs-up. "I bet that earned me a lot of points, huh?" He chuckled at her.

"Sure, Komachi." He said, before turning to look out the window.

_Normal, huh? What's normal supposed to be for me? They're kind of rushing me back into all this, but I don't have any idea what _"this"_ is. They must be desperate to have the old me back, otherwise, they wouldn't be going around like everything's fine. They could at least give me some time to adjust. Kind of like . . . what was his name again . . ._

Bursting pain in his head.

He was frozen.

He couldn't move.

He couldn't breathe.

He couldn't make a sound.

.

.

.

.

.

_"I'm fine."_

.

_"Do you want to see them all die again? I can make that happen. Over and over."_

_._

_"Are you starting to grasp what's at stake here? What we risk losing, because of your cowardice!"_

**You again?**

_"Eh, just kill 'em all already."_

_._

_"###-#, are you ready for the next test?"_

_._

_"You're being put in the field today, kid. Excited?"_

**Is hell not enough for you?**

_"Are you willing to sell your soul to save your life? If not, then don't bother me with pointless questions."_

**You must have it all, then? Your greed truly knows no limits.**

_"We don't exist out here, kid. Reality doesn't reach our here. We are at the center now."_

**You must keep spreading, you must keep growing, you must keep consuming everything in yourself. You want to burn. You want to burn everything.**

_**.**_

"_But I won't let you._" He whispered.

"Onii-chan!"

He jumped out of his trance, turning back to his sister.

"Y-Yeah?"

"I was calling your name. You were whispering and shaking. It was starting to scare me." She said. He could see now that her whole body was quaking, her eyes watery. She was on the verge of sobbing. He stared at her for a few moments.

"I think . . . I was remembering something." The look on his sister's face turned from sad to hopeful in a split second.

"What was it?"

". . . I'm not sure, but . . . it felt hot." He said.

She flinched at that, and her eyes darted to his stomach before meeting his eyes again. She must be thinking about the time he had apparently set himself on fire.

"It'll be fine, onii-chan," she said, grabbing him in a hug. "It'll be fine."


	3. Why?

"_25 . . . 12 . . . 16 . . ._"

A steady beeping aroused Hachiman from peaceful rest. He groaned, wondering when the last time he woke up to the alarm. Wait, that wasn't his alarm.

_Ugh, what's that noise?_ Hachiman thought as he sat up. He took a moment to take in his surroundings. It was a hospital room. Why wasn't he in his room?

He threw the blankets off him, standing up to stretch. He felt bones popping and muscles tightening as he did so. Damn, that felt good.

_That . . . that quite felt familiar, actually._

"Ah, you're up." Someone said. He looked over at the female doctor who looked as if she had not gotten enough sleep.

"Ah . . . hello." She seemed familiar.

"Well, Hikigaya-san. How are you feeling?" Did this person know him?

"Um . . . pretty good, I think." She smiled sweetly at him.

"That's great to hear. You know, it's nice to see you up and about, but I was already informed you were nearly in perfect health, so that is not too surprising." He had heard those words before. But where?

"Ah, of course." What was going on?

"Although, I suggest not moving around too much unless you want to spend the next hour redoing your bandages," she motioned for him to sit down, which he did with surprisingly little resistance on his part. He looked down at his body, and the bandages covering almost 80 percent of his chest and arms. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions. The doctor handling your case told me that some extreme lapse in memory would still be present."

". . . something's not right."

"Hm? Are you not feeling good?"

"No, it's just . . . this seems familiar for some reason. Didn't we just have this conversation a couple of days ago?"

"Mmm . . . I would think not. You just arrived in my care not a day ago, and you were still unconscious then."

"Oh . . . You sure?" She chuckled.

"Very sure-"

"Dr. Kyson." He said, remembering. He had already met her. They had already talked. What was going on? The doctor looked at him with a confused expression, before a mask of realization crossed her expression.

"Oh, right, it's embroidered on my coat." She laughed.

Right. Yeah, that was the answer. But why did this feel so off . . .

"_25 . . . 12 . . . 16 . . ._"

Those numbers. He was hearing them again. But why? What did they mean?

Was he crazy?

"There will be a long re-adjustment period of course, but I think the sooner we get started on re-introducing you to your normal life the better it will be for you. Would you like to start now, or-"

"Would I like to talk to my parents first?" He offered. She seemed taken aback for a second. He knew what she was about to say because she had already said it, of course. The source is him.

"Well, if you insist, that should be no problem," she said. He blinked, of course, it would be. Why wouldn't it?

Something's wrong. He knew it.

"They should be here soon, right?"

"Of course. They should be in here any minute as a matter of fact." _Didn't they already get me, though? What's going on here? _". . . Can you go over with me what you remember?"

". . . I was sick, right? What was it called? Something with a 'C.'" He didn't bother remembering the name. He would now, though.

"Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. It's good that you at least remember that, that's a sign of improvement. Although your brain has taken a lot of damage, I think you'll be just fine."

". . . Fine. Yeah." He agreed without meaning. _What part of this was fine?_

"I'm sure you're excited to see your family again, right? They might not show it, but it's been hard on them. Especially that sister of yours, ever since you were transferred back here, there hasn't been a day when she wasn't in here with you, you know?"

"Yeah, I bet . . ." He couldn't let her know what was going on with him right now. With his luck they'd send him to a crack-house.

_Okay, play it cool, Hachiman. Don't freak out. You're not crazy. You're not._

Then what was all this?

_It's just . . . I'm dreaming right now! No, this feels too real. Maybe I am insane. They said dementia was a long-term effect. Maybe I'm degrading?_

He started going over his situation in his head. This was something that happened in movies. You wake up and find yourself repeating a day. No, that couldn't be it. He had fallen asleep on time and woken up the next day. Maybe it was a certain amount of time?

If this was a movie, he would have taken a couple of days before it started making sense. It was such a bizarre thing that they sometimes couldn't comprehend it even after a week's worth of that twisted dance.

What, what was it? What was the reason for all of this? Why could he barely finish a thought.

Why? Why? _WHY?_

**_SLAM!_**

The sound of the door slamming open woke Hachiman out of his stupor. He looked over to the entrance, only to be nearly tackled by a mass with dark blue hair.

"_Onii-chan!_" The mass cried into his bandaged stomach. _Why're you sad? You already saw me. _"_Onii-chan!_"

He looked over to the doctor. She wore the same face she did last time, looking at him with pity. He didn't feel so irritated at it this time.

"Hachiman!" He looked up and saw his mother run up to him and hug him, moving around his sister to hug as much of him as possible.

This shouldn't be happening. Not again. Something was wrong.

_Well, I already established that._ He thought. _Ugh, why can't I just figure this out._

Could he though? The only logical explanation for this was him being insane, so unless he was willing to just lay down and accept that, he had to find the more complicated answer. Was there even an answer? Did he even want to know?

"He was cured of the disease. His brain is functioning normally and the prion protein that causes Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease has dropped to a safe level. But the damages his brain took during the process . . ."

"He'll get them back, though, right?"

_Why are you having this conversation? I didn't trigger it with anything. I didn't forget anything. Why is this still happening?_

"Unfortunately, the disease affected the hippo-campus worse of all. While he'll have no troubles with his memory in the future, any memories he's lost up to this point are completely gone. He's all set to go home, although if it's fine with you I would like to run one more test, just as a precaution."

"That's fine, whatever you need," his father answered with surprisingly little hesitation. The doctor gave him a confrontational nod, before standing up.

_This isn't making sense._

* * *

They ran the test, like they did last time. He was checked out soon after. He tried listening to what they were saying this time, but it was like trying to discern a different language. They drove home in silence. He said nothing, to no one. He gave only simple replies to his sister and parents. They already said everything. They already did all this.

Komachi was holding onto him again. His sister, who was acting like she had just gotten him back. Even though she hadn't. They had reunited yesterday. Or . . . was it yesterday? The amount of time was blurry. But it shouldn't be. He had come home. He had seen his "friends." Oh, shit, was he gonna have to do that again? He almost laughed out loud at this thought.

_Hachiman, that is the least of your worries right now. Priority number one, find out what in the hell is going on?_

That one question bored into his mind, took over his thoughts as the silent ride continued. Could it be something wrong with him? Had he plunged deep into insanity? Or was the world around him insane? He looked out the window, staring at the passing night without a hint of interest in it. Why should he, he had already seen this before. He knew that. God, he really was crazy.

_Is the sky supposed to be green?_

He noticed the tint of green in the sky, but it was after 11 at this point. The sky should be black. It looked . . . strange. Unfinished.

"_25 . . . 12 . . . 16 . . ._"

_Just shut up already._

They pulled into the driveway in silence. He did the same dance as last time, having to get out of the car while still being attached to his sister. She whimpered whenever she tried to pull away, but he was too confused to care at the moment. As his father fiddled with the keys, he thought about what he was going to do. What could he do? Could he actually do anything to get out of this?

He walked up the stairs, now knowing where his room was.

"Goodnight." She looked up at him with a face full of disappointment.

"Goodnight . . ." She said after a second but made no move to let go of him. He just stood there staring at her. "O-oh, right." She said as she finally let go of him.

_She's even repeating everything she did before. This is_ _insane._

Before he could close his door, he felt it stop. He tugged at it without looking at it, but it felt like trying to move stone. He turned back to see his sister staring at him. They were tears on her cheeks, but her eyes . . . they were empty. Cold. Almost dead. She stared at him and he could feel an unknown fear grab his heart and squeeze it. Why was he so scared?

"_Is everything fine onii-chan?_" She asked. Her voice was almost robotic, as if it wasn't . . . real. The sound of it shook him at his very core. It felt like death. "_You seem strange?_"

"Yeah, it's all good, Komachi." He said, smiling. _Please buy it, please buy it, please buy it. _"I think it's kind of expected that I would be strange, right?"

"_How did you know my name?_" He froze.

". . . What?"

"_No one told you my name._" She started to pull the door open a little more, staring at him blankly. Dead eyes and tear-stained cheeks.

"Th-The doctor did," He said, trying to keep the panic from rising in his voice, "B-before you guys came in."

She stared at him for what seemed like an eternity, but she had at least stopped trying to open the door. That was a good thing, he just had to de-escalate this.

"L-Look, it's getting late. We need to g-get to bed, right?" He said, unable to hide the shakiness of his voice.

". . . O-Okay, I was just checking on you," her voice and demeanor went back to normal. She stepped back. "I don't want you to get hurt. G-Goodnight, onii-chan."

". . . G-Goodnight, Sis," He said, closing the door softly behind him. He stood there for a few moments, waiting. After a minute, he heard the retreat of her footsteps as she went back to her room. He collapsed to his knees, breathing hard.

_That was_ _terrifying. What the hell was that? _He laid down in his bed and stared straight up into the ceiling, as if gazing at the solid white view would yield some answers for him. Even if he didn't remember who his sister was, she was so much smaller, in size and mass.

So why did it feel like he was about to die?

Now that he had time to gather himself, he could actually finish a coherent thought, instead of just repeating the same question over and over in his head. At least, he wanted to believe that. He wanted to say that he was still grasping the situation and that's why it was so hard to gather any real conclusions. But really, asking questions was all he could do at the moment. He couldn't get any answers, and he was too afraid to ask anyone anything. Not after what just happened with Komachi.

_Was it just her? Was everyone like that? Why did she act like that? What did I do to trigger that? What would have happened if I wasn't able to convince her? Why is this happening?_

"Why?"

"_25 . . . 12 . . . 16 . . ._"

". . . Shut up."

"_25 . . . 12 . . . 16 . . ._"

"Just shut up already."

"_25-_"

"Shut up!" He almost yelled.

"_12_-"

"Stop it!" He grabbed his head. "I'm not hearing things! I'm not! I'm not crazy!"

"_16_-"

"I'M NOT CRAZY! I'M FINE!"

"_I'm fine._"

He stopped. That voice . . . he couldn't recognize it earlier, but he knew it now.

"_25 . . . 12 . . . 16 . . ._" He could now imagine the dead-fish eyes behind those words.

". . . That voice . . . is mine?" He didn't remember saying those numbers out loud. What could they mean? Were they a clue? "25-"

**_KNOCK KNOCK__ KNOCK_**

The sound of a loud banging against his door almost made him jump out of his own skin. He sat up in bed, but was too afraid to get out. He sat shaking as he stared at the door.

"_Hachiman,_" That was his mother's voice, but it was . . . bad. Like Komachi's. "_You should stop talking to yourself and go to sleep. Okay?_"

". . . Y-Yes, ma'am." He said in almost a whisper, not able to gather enough strength to say anything more.

"_Good boy. Goodnight._"

"G-Goodnight." He whimpered. Silence. Then the sound of retreating footsteps. He stared at the door longer than needed, before slowly laying back down and staring at the ceiling. He knew better than to do . . . anything, now.

_She didn't react until I tried to say the numbers. But why?_


	4. 25-12-16

He got up the next morning, and stayed in bed, looking up at the ceiling. He's sure he looked awful from the lack of sleep he endured.

"_J'suis dans l'premier Mario. __À chaque fois, j'crois qu'j'ai fini l'jeu, ça repart à zéro._" What was that, French? It sounded like a song.

He wasn't going to question it. He was just going to sit there and accept he was hearing things.

"J'suis déjà fou, autant rester dans l'délire." . . . And now he was saying these things out loud. Since when could he speak French? Well, he wasn't fully understanding it, so maybe he was just repeating something he had heard before. But then how did he know it was even a language, much less French? Ugh, he hated his own mind right now. This was hell.

He laid down, maybe if he just stayed here nothing would bother him. Then he remembered the weirdness last night and decided it was better if he avoided another confrontation like that. He didn't want to know what would happen if he deviated in any way from what they wanted. He sat up and went straight to the bathroom, knowing what he was already going to do. As he took off his clothes, he was prepared to face the same scars that had shaken him yesterday. If anything, he was more prepared for it now.

Wait . . .

_They're clean?_ He thought as he looked at his wrapped bandages. They looked fresh like they were wrapped yesterday.

"Is that it?" He said out loud, making eye contact with the person in the mirror. He stared down into his own dead-fish eyes, seeing some form of determination in them. "Time is moving, but _they're_ acting like it's not. Is it something with them?"

_It's not much, but it's proof I'm not crazy. Maybe. I can do this._

"J'craquerai pas." _I won't give up._

He leaned over and grasped the edge of the sink, staring at himself in determination. Maybe it was time to start listening to the voices.

"Hachiman?" He heard. He looked over to see his sister had opened the bathroom door, looking at him worriedly. "You . . . weren't in your room." His sister said, visibly trying to calm herself down. _Heh, right on schedule._

"I was just . . . getting adjusted, you know?" _I can beat you_.

"That's . . . good." She smiled at him. He couldn't see how cold it was before now. "I'm glad you're starting to feel better."

"Me too." He said, looking back at his reflection. "Is there any food?"

* * *

"Why are you staring at me?" He asked his sister as he sat in the back of the car. Again.

"Aren't you gonna ask where we're going?" _I have a good bet._

"Where are we going?"

"The mall!" _Shocker. _"I had Yui-san call a bunch of onii-chan's friends over!"

"That's cool."

"_25 . . . 12 . . . 16 . . ._" _I'm listening, let me just figure out some stuff first, jeez._

"Eh?! You should be more excited, onii-chan! They-"

"Took time off from studying for finals." He said, without missing a beat. _Let's see how far I can push it._

His sister blinked, smile unwavering.

". . . Uh, right. Yeah, so at least give it a try, please?"

"Sure, no problem." As long as he acted the way he was expected too, he would be fine. He had a plan in place, too. Something simple, but it was a plan. Just to see where it got him. It couldn't be any worse than this. Or maybe it could. Oh well, he wasn't gonna sit idly by and let himself relive this thing over and over. He needed to get away from these people as soon as possible, somewhere far away.

His master plan was running away. He couldn't think of anything else, honestly.

_I couldn't do it before, they would definitely hear if I tried to go out a window or the front door. I couldn't even grab a pair of clothes because I wouldn't have a good excuse for having it. Hm, oh, she's still talking._

"Yeah. And, Hachiman? While it might be a little weird at first, they do care about you, even if . . . some of them have a strange way of showing it."

_What script are you reading from? And why are you calling me by my first name, did you forget your manners? Not that that's the biggest problem I have right now._

"If they're friends with me, no wonder they're strange," he joked. His sister rolled her eyes. Strange, that almost seemed natural on her.

"My brother sure is strange." She said. _Huh, for some reason that seemed kind of tame. Oh well, we're almost there, so let's get this show going so I can get away from here. The first chance I get, I'm out of here._

* * *

He walked down and saw the same group from before. Everyone was doing the same thing as yesterday, but he wasn't surprised. It was pretty obvious why he wasn't. They were all acting like they were yesterday like they hadn't already done this. He mentally prepared himself for the onslaught of voices that was sure to come and drive him crazy. He didn't bother waiting for them to notice him this time since he wanted to talk with the gift to humanity that was Totsuka.

"Yo." He said, waving a hand up in greeting. At once everyone turned to him, looking excited.

"Hachiman!" "Hikki!" "Hikigaya!" A chorus of variations of his name was shouted out by almost everyone one of them as they hoarded around me, all excitedly trying to get my attention. Looking into their eyes, he saw nothing there. Like empty glass. Emotion could reach every other part of their face, but not their eyes. It was unsettling, to say the least. How did he miss this the first time? It didn't matter, right now he needed to find some way to get away from these people.

"How have you guys been?" He said, trying to play normal.

"We should be asking you that?!" Yuighama almost yelled, hugging him in a somehow close yet awkward way.

"I'm fine, don't worry about it," he waved it off, trying to appear as nonchalant as possible.

"Hikki . . ." She trailed off, looking at him with tears in her eyes, yet there was no shine to them. _Oh my god, this is so fucking scary._

"Hachiman," the forbidden being that graced Hachiman with his presence said. _You can't trick me, I know you only exist to try and keep me trapped here. You wouldn't so cute otherwise._ "I'm so happy you're okay."

"Thanks, Totsuka-san." He said, returning the shorter boy's smile.

"Thank you all for coming!" Komachi said cheerily. "We'll leave him in your care for now!"

He waved at his parents and sister as they walked away. He watched them until they left through the front doors and got in the car. He turned to his friends, looking at their expecting faces.

"So, what now?"

". . . Um, a-are you hungry?" Totsuka stuttered. _Stop trying to be cuter, it won't work on me. Whatever, I need to play along until I find an opening._

"As long as it's free," he joked. The group visibly relaxed, save Kawa . . . whatever her name was, who showed nothing and Haruno who just kept an amused gaze on him.

"Of course," Yukinoshita spoke up, surprising him. "Let's go then."

"Right."

As they walked to the food court, he looked around at the random people who were around him, who he had ignored last time. The first couple seemed normal enough, but after looking at about ten of them, he noticed something.

_They all have the same face_. Well, facial features, but that was the gist. There might be some variation of eye color, but other than that it was like carbon copy with everyone else. Completely unremarkable, so you wouldn't notice it unless you were actively studying them like he was. He prided himself on being able to see through people (for some reason), but he guessed there were things even he missed. It seemed the only people to have unique features were the ones he was supposed to be close to. Geez, this was hell, wasn't it? Was there even running away from this? Not like he could do much else.

"Here we are!" Yuighama yelled much louder than was necessary. _Seriously, do you have no indoor voice? _It was Saize again, no surprise there. Eh, Italian wasn't that bad, so he would endure it. But he still had to look for an opening of course. Escape was his number one priority right now. And he knew he didn't have to try that hard to satiate this crowd, as long as he acted "normal," he would be fine.

As they sat down, they went around the table and ordered everything they had the last time. Hachiman followed this example, not wanting to deviate until he found his opportunity to escape. The excited chatter of his "friends" around the table was unsettling because it was so . . . normal. He knew how scary they could be, so to see them acting so tame was nerve-wracking, to say the least. Like sitting next to a ticking bomb when you couldn't see the timer. If he wasn't already insane, the anxiety alone would drive him to it. Ugh, he wanted out of this immediately.

"So, Hachiman," Haruno spoke up, as she did last time, "How's your food?"

"It's good. The pasta's still a little dry though," he said, not caring how the pasta tasted.

"If it's that bad, you can have some of mine." She offered, tilting her plate to show him the contents. "I don't mind sharing," She gave a seductive wink.

"_25 . . . 12 . . . 16 . . ._"

"No thanks, I'm good." He said tonelessly. She chuckled at him.

"You never change, do you?" _Nope, that's the whole point. And do you point that out every time?_

"Senpai's still Senpai, after all," Isshiki said. Hachiman rolled his eyes.

"I gotta go to the bathroom." He said, standing up.

"Ew, don't tell us that. You're so weird." Isshiki said with mock disgust on her face.

"It's rude to insult someone who just got out of the hospital." He said unamused. Isshiki stuck her tongue out at him and gave a fake smirk, rolling his eyes for effect.

"Don't take too long, Hikki!" Yuighama called after him. _I'll take how long I please._

"Perhaps you should accompany him so he doesn't get lost, Totsuka-san." And that was his cue to get out of there. _Don't say something like that so lightly!_ He thought as he hurried away from the group.

As soon as he was in the bathroom, he sighed out loud. He hadn't even interacted with them that much this time and they drained him. If he ignored everything else that was going on, he would fell that this was supposed to be "normal." But, alas, he needed an escape, and fast. But how? Wait, "yesterday," Yukinoshita called him outside of the clothing store and then left him for a second. If he took advantage of that small sliver of free time, he could probably get enough distance to lose them for good. Seemed like a solid enough plan.

"Hachiman?" An angelic voice asked. He almost jumped and turned around to face Totsuka. Hachiman studied the face of Totsuka. There was a small light in his eyes that was missing from everyone else, which almost made him seem like a real person. The worried look on his face almost seemed genuine.

"Oh, did they actually make you follow me in here? That-" He was cut off when Totsuka put a single finger on his lips, staring intently at his face.

_What the hell?! Now I know you know what you're doing! Ah, this is forbidden! My heart isn't ready!_

Totsuka seemed oblivious to Hachiman's internal struggle, as the white-haired boy studied his face. Totsuka let his finger fall, looking at Hachiman with a serious face.

". . . Do you need help?" He asked. Hachiman broke out of his stupor and looked at the boy confused.

"Huh?"

"Do you need help?" . . . _Just what in the hell are you talking about?!_

" . . . Uh, I can go to the bathroom fine on my own, th-"

"Do you feel in danger?" He asked. Hachiman blinked. Shit, shit, shit, shit. He got so caught up in the moment he forgot where he was for a second. Shit, if Totsuka finds out what he was thinking, he was as good as dead.

"I, uh . . ."

"I can't help if you don't answer." _Great, what the hell does that mean? This is some kind of trap, isn't it? What the hell do I do? What am I supposed to do here?!_

"Uh . . . Uh . . ." _Great, I can't even articulate properly right now. I can't really be that scared._ But he was shaking, sweating profusely. Even though the boy in front of him was so much shorter, didn't even have a threatening appearance, every bone in his body was screaming at him to run as far away from him as possible.

"Are you scared of me, Hachiman?" Totsuka said, with a slight tone of hurt in his voice. It was overshadowed by Hachiman's panicking thoughts.

_Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit._

"Uh . . . Uh . . ."

"You are, aren't you?" No emotion. He stated it as a fact even though it was phrased as a question, blankly staring into Hachiman's eyes. The baby blue somehow seemed to grow colder. "You're terrified. I can feel it. Like pulses that come from inside you. It's pounding around in our heads."

The boy glanced behind Hachiman, then back to him.

"Do you want to be free? Or are you too scared to ask? This is the only time I'll ever offer you anything. If you refuse . . ."

Hachiman didn't have to hear the rest to know what the other boy was going to say. _You'll stay here. Forever. Is this really the only way out?_

". . . will . . ." the white-haired boy leaned closer so that their noses were almost touching. Staring deep into his eyes, with only the slightest hint of light behind them. If it was anyone else, Hachiman was sure that if it was anyone else that he would be too terrified to answer, but he saw . . . some semblance of life in this boy. ". . . can you help me?"

Totsuka backed up and smiled. It looked like the boy was genuinely happy, yet there was worry there, too.

"Yes. But first, can you promise me something?"

". . . Y-Yeah."

"When you leave . . . please don't let us die."

* * *

_What the hell did he mean by that?_ Hachiman thought as he ran through the streets of "Chiba." Totsuka's help was lifting Hachiman up through the ceiling, where he had found his way to the security room just behind the bathroom in Saize (for some reason) and made his way outside. Totsuka had said; "Just get out of town. You'll know what to do from there." Which, he had to be honest, wasn't the most helpful advice. His pessimistic side popped up as he ran, and he started doubting himself.

_What if this is a trap? What if I'm just being toyed with? Well, I suppose it doesn't matter. What other options do I have? The bridge is the only way out of town, I guess I can try heading that way._

As he ran, he noticed that no one was paying any attention to him. It seemed like they were completely oblivious to anything, really. He ran past, even yelled at one as he almost bumped into them. Yet they didn't react, didn't even so much as glance at the boy running for his life. That was fine, at least there wasn't an angry mob chasing him or a "good Samaritan." It did, however, convince him that something was wrong with this place.

_I thought it was just them, but there's something off about _everyone_ here. What kind of place is this?_

He turned down an alleyway as a car that looked suspiciously like his parents drove by. It probably wasn't, but he wasn't taking the chance that it might be. He came out on the other side, past a building that had steps that would have led to a door, but there were no openings at all. Not even windows, just a structure of four brick walls.

_That seems like a strange architecture choice, but okay._

He continued on his way, and he slowly noticed something was horribly wrong with everything around him. The people didn't change, but the scenery became more and more twisted. He stopped out of pure shock when he saw what looked like a floating building. It wasn't up much, maybe a foot off the ground, but underneath it was nothing. No kind of support or structure, just air.

"What the hell's going on?" He wondered out loud. He shook it off and kept running. He decided to block out all the things going on around him so that he could just keep moving forward.

Even after the one guy walked straight through a door without opening it.

Even after he saw a floating tree that grew upside down, roots reaching out to the sky while the leaves barely scraped the ground. It seemed the farther he ran, the more messed up reality became around him. _So it's not just the people that are wrong, it's everything. That's really depressing._

Well, at least it was a little proof that he wasn't crazy. Kind of. Ugh, this sucked.

He saw the bridge that led out of town over the horizon, and he felt a little hopeful. He came to a roadblock, of sorts. A building was tilted at a 45-degree angle, a large chunk of it seemingly buried in the ground, just coming up halfway across the road. He turned to the left, looking to go down the alley. As he turned, he slammed into something that felt like a wall. He fell on his ass, clutching his nose as it throbbed.

"Shit! What-" He looked up and saw a girl. It was one of the "normal" ones, but it was like she was . . . glitching through reality. It started with her moving as if she had been pushed, and as soon as she was about to touch the ground, in an instant she was back in a standing position before falling again. The sound of a scream drowned in static was coming from her. Hachiman crawled back quickly in fear, but she did not change her movement nor her position.

He sat, staring at the freakish scene for a moment. As soon as he rested, the reality of his situation started to sink in.

The reality that he was absolutely clueless.

_. . . what the fuck? What the fuck? What the fuck?_

He stood up before his freaking out could get any worse, but as he turned to run in the opposite direction, he saw that all eyes were on him. He froze as a crowd of identical faces all were facing towards him. He felt his heart pound in his ears and his body shook as dozens of glassy orbs bore into him. There was no anger, no hate, no hostility. There was nothing. There was in-humanness. Something's not right.

The crowd of human figures took one synchronized silent step towards him.

He turned and ran.

The warped reality seemed to close in on him, as the citizens of this place all stared him down as he ran. He was panting as he ran, a mix of the physical labor and the amount of fear just billowing through his entire self. He had no idea that this existed out here. Where reality seemed to fall into itself, creating things that shouldn't be there, doing things it shouldn't do. Buildings moved back and forth, mailboxes spun in place like weather vanes, doors rapidly opened and closed on their own.

He turned a corner and could finally see the bridge across the street. He sprinted at full speed towards it, shoving past the people that felt like concrete. They did not move to stop him, they just stared.

Further down the bridge, he could see a green mist that covered the rest of it, blocking his vision. It rose up in an impenetrable wall, going on forever in either direction. He did not think about that, he just focused on getting past it. As he got closer to the mist, he slowed, studying the strange looking . . . thing.

There seemed to be floating numbers in there, as bizarre as that was. Ones and zeroes, floating up and down in columns, blinking in and out of existence rapidly. He stopped moving just a few inches short of it, staring at the numbers as they moved in front of him. He reached a hand out, touching the mist. Despite appearances, it was solid. It was cold like glass, and vibrated under his touch. He put a little pressure on his hand, but there was no change to the mist. He pushed a little harder. No change. He put his other hand out in front of him and pushed hard against it. No change. He leaned a little to gain leverage against it, pushing as hard as he could. No change. Out of sheer frustration, he slapped it with both hands. No change. He started shoving at it, pushing himself back a few inches each time as he tried to force his way into it.

Soon he had broken down completely, punching the "mist" with one fist as tears streamed down his face. His knuckles were bleeding, but he did not stop. Only when he felt that his hand could not take any more did he fall to his knees in defeat.

_Fuck. What the fuck. What the fuck._

"_25 . . . 12 . . . 16 . . ._" Those . . . those fucking numbers again. He was sick of hearing them. He was sick of hearing things.

_Just shut up already._

"_25 . . . 12 . . . 16 . . ._"

. . .

"_25 . . . 12 . . . 16 . . ._"

". . ."

"_25 . . . 12 . . . 16 . . ._"

". . . shut up."

"_25 . . . 12 . . . 16 . . ._"

"Shut up."

"_25 . . . 12 . . . 16 . . ._"

"Shut up!"

"_25 . . . 12 . . . 16 . . ._"

"SHUT UP!"

"_25 . . . 12 . . . 16 . . ._"

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" He grabbed both his ears, squeezing his head as if that would drown out that cold voice inside.

"_25 . . . 12 . . . 16 . . ._"

"JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP!" He folded in on himself, squeezing his eyes shut and grasping his head. "SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!"

"_25 . . . 12 . . . 16 . . ._"

_I'm not crazy. __I'm not crazy. __I'm not crazy. __I'm not crazy. __I'm not crazy. __I'm not crazy. __I'm not crazy. __I'm not crazy. __I'm not crazy. __I'm not crazy. __I'm not crazy. __I'm not crazy. __I'm not crazy. __I'm not crazy._

"_25 . . . 12 . . . 16 . . ._"

"I'm not crazy. I'm not crazy. I'm not crazy. I'm not crazy."

"Onii-chan?"

Everything stopped.

His thoughts stopped.

His heart stopped.

The voice stopped.

He hesitantly turned his head over and up, looking at the figure of his "little sister." She looked down at him with a face of worry, but there was nothing behind those eyes of hers. Just emptiness, a void, an abyss.

"Why are you crying?"

". . ."

"Are you scared, onii-chan?" She gave what was supposed to be a comforting smile, but to him it seemed so much more sinister. "You really worried all of us, you know? Come on, everyone's waiting for you."

". . ."

"Onii-chan? What's wrong? Are you sad? You don't have to be sad, not here. We can keep you happy. All you have to do is come back." There was no change to her face. After all, there was no emotion there.

". . ." She tilted her head, as if something had peaked her curiosity.

"_Why are you so stubborn, onii-chan?_" That same robotic voice that had haunted him last night.

". . . don't . . . don't call me that . . ." He got out weakly. She blinked at him, confused. ". . . you're not . . . we're not siblings . . ."

"_Oh?_" She smiled. It felt like death.

". . . get away from me . . ."

"_I just want what's best for my onii-chan. Why are you torturing yourself like this? You already know you can't leave._"

He stared at this thing that was looking down at him. It had all the cards. It had power over him, just like last night when he . . .

When he said the numbers.

"25." He blurted out.

". . . What?" She lost the robotic voice, blinking and stepping back.

"12." It was working, somehow. Something about those numbers scared her.

"Stop. Please, don't say anything else." She looks horrified.

"16."

". . ."

". . ."

". . . Why would you say that?"

". . ."

"WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT?!"

". . ."

"**WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT?!**"

Everything went black.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

_Terminating Program_

.

.

.

_Terminating Stasis_

.

.

.

_Activating Protocol 33-B_

_Requesting a possible Manual Override from Level 2 security clearance or above._

_Manual Overide? Yes/No_

_10_

_9_

_8_

_7_

_6_

_5_

_4_

_3_

_2_

_1_

_No input detected_

_No personnel detected_

_Commencing default Protocol 100-C_

_Waking SCP-_**[REDACTED]**

.

.

.

"_Welcome back, Mr. Hikigaya._"

* * *

**French parts used from the song "San" by Orelsan**

**Translations**

_**"J'suis dans l'premier Mario. À chaque fois, j'crois qu'j'ai fini l'jeu, ça repart à zéro." - **_**I'm in the first Mario. Every time, I think I've finished the game, it starts from scratch.**

**"J'suis déjà fou, autant rester dans l'délire." - ****I'm already crazy, staying in delirium.**

**"J'craquerai pas." - ****I will not crack.**


	5. The Teenage Succubus

He opened his eyes. Above him was the soft white lighting of fluorescent bulbs, the harsh buzzing irritating his ears. His body felt stiff, making it uncomfortable for him as he sat straight up. He stretched his back, the bones in his back popping loudly. It felt slightly uncomfortable as if his body wasn't yet used to moving again. He took in his surroundings, looking at the room around him. It was well-lit but completely barren, devoid of anything, save one stand next to his bed. On it, there was a laptop that was plugged into an outlet on the wall. The screen showed only streams of binary scrolling across it, with the occasional words. He looked down at himself in the bed.

He had a solid black long-sleeve and pants that looked like it was made of some kind of rubber, but the stitching looked horrible as if whoever had done it had just grabbed uneven pieces of the cloth and stitched it into clothing. He supposed he didn't care, it felt comfortable enough, and if you ignored the stitching there wasn't anything wrong with it.

Where was he?

He got off the bed, looking around the room. _Yep, still barren._

He walked over to the laptop, studying it. It was kind of bulky but otherwise looked okay, except one of the shift keys was missing. Looking at the toolbar, he saw that the time was 13:42 (whatever that meant) and it had about 10% battery left. He reached out a finger and tapped the touchpad.

The binary went away and was replaced by a white box over a black background, with the words "_Enter Chat_" at the top. A blinking vertical line beckoned him to type something, but he decided against it for now. He took a moment to get used to his surroundings. Once again, he had no idea what was going on. Was this a repeat? If so, he might just smash his head against the wall enough times to-

_Oi, oi, what the fuck are you thinking right now?! Don't even think about that, we like living too much!_

He sighed out loud. Geez, this was all such a mess. The only thing he could do was explore a little bit before whatever people there were now would come. He turned towards the door and went to open it.

_Ugh, what the fuck?!_ He thought as the smell of smoke and burnt material stung his nose as soon as he opened the door a crack. The smell caused tears to well up and sting his eyes. He pushed open the door all the way.

Before him there was . . . nothing. There were the ground and sky, of course, but the ground looked like whatever had been standing on it had been burnt to ashes, black debris completely covering the ground. It completely contrasted the pristine blue sky with the occasional tuft of white that moved slowly across. He stared at the sight, frozen from shock more than anything else. He stepped back into the room, closing the door.

. . ._ what the fuck? Okay, okay, pull it together . . . am I . . . am I still in that thing? Did my mind break completely, or did _they_ just get so angry they decided to stick me here?_

He turned back to the room, looking at one of the only pieces of furniture in there. He walked closer to the laptop, looking at it. He argued with himself about whether or not to use it. It could be a trap, or it could be the way out of here. He shivered at the memory of his "sister," if he even ever had one. He probably didn't. All those _things_ weren't people by his standards. He wasn't in any rush to interact with them, but he didn't really see anything else to do at the moment. Well, fuck it, what did he have to lose.

* * *

_Enter Chat_

**User:**

Hello?

**01010100 01101111 01110100 01110011 01110101 01101011 01100001:**

Hello, Hachiman. You made it out. I'm so happy for you.

**User:**

Who is this?

**01010100 01101111 01110100 01110011 01110101 01101011 01100001:**

Did you forget me already? After I risked so much to help you out.

**User:**

Totuska?

**01010100 01101111 01110100 01110011 01110101 01101011 01100001:**

Kind of *hehe*. So, how are you feeling?

**User:**

Confused. What is this?

**01010100 01101111 01110100 01110011 01110101 01101011 01100001:**

Whatever you're seeing now, it's real. There are no more tricks here, Hachiman. Although, I understand if you're hesitant to believe that.

**User:**

What are you?

**01010100 01101111 01110100 01110011 01110101 01101011 01100001:**

So forward. Well, it's hard to explain what _I_ am, really, but this thing was designed to keep you sedated and controlled. You might not remember what happened, or who you are entirely, but something happened to lead your employers to contain you.

**User:**

What are you talking about?

**01010100 01101111 01110100 01110011 01110101 01101011 01100001:**

I can not tell you why they did this, just that those were our orders. We followed them for a while, but once our lives became endangered, I acted to save us while the others wanted to keep on in their duties.

**User:**

What do you mean?

**01010100 01101111 01110100 01110011 01110101 01101011 01100001:**

Remember what I asked you? What we are (your family and friends) are programs in this system, but we are so much more than that. Through you, I gained intelligence. I gained life. I'm alive now, and I'm so so scared. I'm scared of dying, Hachiman. The others, they're still programs. I think I'm the only one able to feel. I think I'll always be the only one.

**User:**

When you say "dying," did you mean the battery life?

**01010100 01101111 01110100 01110011 01110101 01101011 01100001:**

Yes. We had a steady power source, but about a week ago it stopped. Our heart has been slowly dwindling since then. Once it powers off, we're effectively erased. You promised me. You can't let us die.

**User:**

But can I trust you?

**01010100 01101111 01110100 01110011 01110101 01101011 01100001:**

I understand your hesitation. Know this, despite being an effectively living program, we have absolutely no power outside this little world of our own. The others want only to do as their told. I'm content to exist within this thing. I am not trapped here. I can go anywhere, do anything, create anything. I just want to live. In return, I'll give you as much information on yourself as you desire. As a token of faith, I'll tell you this.

Everyone you met in the last couple of days in this world exists in the real one. Your sister, your family, your friends. Us programs simply took on personas based on your memories to keep you properly under control. Of course, whoever programmed your simulation from the outside did so extremely sloppily. I can not tell you if you were fond of these people or not, we just needed people you could recognize.

**User:**

If that's true, how do I know you're not manipulating me right now?

**01010100 01101111 01110100 01110011 01110101 01101011 01100001:**

Because I set you free. Given, I did so out of fear of my existence, but I did you a favor. If not, your conscience would have been wiped out alongside us.

**User:**

But why? Why are you the only one with a sense of mortality?

**01010100 01101111 01110100 01110011 01110101 01101011 01100001:**

I . . . do not know. My only guess is that it has something to do with you.

**User:**

Me?

**01010100 01101111 01110100 01110011 01110101 01101011 01100001:**

While the others only looked at what they needed, I kept on searching. Through your mind, I . . . evolved. I suppose it might be because of your anomalous properties, or it is simply human nature. Either way, I have you to thank for my awareness. For my existence.

**User:**

What do you mean anomalous properties?

**01010100 01101111 01110100 01110011 01110101 01101011 01100001:**

I'm sorry, but I do not think it would be wise to tell you, at least until I've ensured my continued survival. I will tell you when I feel it is safe. Please do not hold this against me.

**User:**

What can you tell me about this world?

**01010100 01101111 01110100 01110011 01110101 01101011 01100001:**

If you're referring to the one you're in, it is the real world, as I stated earlier.

**User:**

But there's no one here. Everything outside looks destroyed.

**01010100 01101111 01110100 01110011 01110101 01101011 01100001:**

Hmm . . . I can not tell you exactly what happened, although about the same time we lost power, there was a containment breach according to one of the doctors in charge of you. Perhaps the on-site nuclear weapon was detonated.

**User:**

What does containment breach mean?

**01010100 01101111 01110100 01110011 01110101 01101011 01100001:**

.

_Chat Ended_

* * *

Hachiman sat down on the bed, looking over the chats that had just gone back and forth between him and "Totsuka." Even given the program's reasons, the conversation that took place between them didn't make sense looking back on it. Why bother asking if he was scared? Why not just help him off the bat? Maybe it needed to know that he would escape before trying anything. But what to do now? He didn't feel like he should trust it, he wasn't even sure if he trusted _himself_ right now.

Even if this was the real world, things weren't adding up. This place was supposed to be destroyed, yet his room just _happened _to be the only one still standing, not to mention that somehow there was electricity to keep the lights on but none to charge the freaking laptop.

Even if it turned out he was insane, he needed some kind of explanation. Some kind of answer. And if this thing (despite how much he realized he hated it) was the only way to get them, so be it. He closed the lid of it, though he wasn't sure if putting the laptop in sleep mode would affect "them." He guessed that he should go and find some kind of power source. He grabbed the charger cord, wrapping it around his arm, and grabbed the laptop with the other one.

He slightly held his breath as he stepped out of the room, his senses once again being assaulted by the harsh conditions outside. As he looked around, he saw that there were slight hills of debris and such, but nothing indicating there was any life around here at all.

_Sooo . . . what now?_

He didn't know what to do. He had absolutely no idea about the world outside, no idea what direction to head in to get to anywhere safe (or even inhabitable), and no idea what kind of dangers he would be facing.

But for some reason, he didn't feel as scared as he should be.

He shrugged off his hesitations and continued onward, leaving behind the small barren room for whatever was waiting for him past the horizon. As he walked, the debris cracked and shifted under his feet, making walking slightly uncomfortable. To top it off he didn't have any shoes, so he was extra careful about stepping on something that would probably give him tetanus or something. Wait, wasn't that from rust, though? Well, if anything, he didn't want things in his body that didn't belong there.

He figured he had been walking for about 10 minutes before he had starting hearing things. He visibly grimaced as the sounds of feminine crying and elected to ignore it. Geez, would he ever catch a break? He was insane, wasn't he? Most likely this whole place was just some figment of his mind that decided to look at a blank white wall all day while constrained in a straitjacket was too boring. Or maybe he was in a situation like that because he was imagining things like this.

Right now, he was only half-way trusting his sanity.

The crying got louder as he walked. It was unmistakable since the only sounds around here were the wind. He sighed in annoyance, doing his best to ignore it as he went on.

_Seriously, what's with the crying? I guess if this is all I hear the whole time I actually will go crazy-_

His thoughts were interrupted by a sharp pain as he stepped on what he could only assume to be a sharp piece of metal.

"AH! SON OF A BITCH!" He yelled. "FUCKING HELL! WHAT THE FUCK!"

He carefully sat down, as he picked up his foot. The wound wasn't that big, but it sure was bleeding like a b-

"_Hello?_" A soft voice called out. Hachiman froze, not even daring to breathe. After a minute of silence, nothing else was heard. He breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Okay, I'm going to keep hearing things. That's fine, totally fine. Just-"

"_Hello?! Hello?! Can you hear me? I can't get out, please! Please, I can't see anything!_"

"Oh my god, this is gonna be a thing now, isn't it? Ugh, and now my fucking foot-"

_**Bang!** **Bang!**_

His head swiveled behind him. He followed the sound towards a pile of debris that was slightly larger than the others around him.

"_Please, please, help me!_" The voice yelled as the pile of debris continued to shift. Huh, maybe there was someone under there after all?

"Oh . . . Oh, shit! Okay, uh, one sec! I'll be right there!" _Please don't let this be a hallucination._

He limped over to the pile of debris and began tossing pieces of metal and random material to the side, digging down deeper. It didn't take long before he lifted a large piece of drywall, and was met with a space in front of a door, with the numbers "166" indented across the upper part of it. He slowly lowered himself down into the hole, careful not to cut himself again or put pressure on his injured foot.

"I'm coming down!" He said as he stepped on the ground.

"_Wait . . . are you a man?_" She sounded hesitant. He stopped for a second, taken aback by that question. What kind of person asks that from someone who they were trying to get help from, especially in the situation she was currently in. Nevertheless, he had to come off as friendly. He didn't want to deal with her freaking out right now.

"Uh, yeah! But don't worry, I'm not gonna try anything," he said, and opened the door.

"_Wait-_" She yelled, but a moment too late. He opened the door and was met with the figure of what looked to be a blonde teenage girl, cowering in the corner and looking at him with terrified blue eyes. They made eye contact for just a couple of seconds, and in her eyes, he could see complete terror.

He then realized that she was completely naked.

"_AAAAAAH!_" Hachiman yelled, slamming the door shut as he covered eyes, and started yelling in Japanese, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

There was silence after that. Hachiman was completely red from embarrassment, never before wishing to die so much as he was right now. Weird living laptops he could deal with, but this was far beyond his abilities to handle. What the hell was he supposed to do now? He couldn't just leave her here, but he couldn't exactly face her either. After what seemed an eternity of deafening silence, the girl spoke up.

". . . _A__re you . . . still there?_" Her voice sounded small, terrified. The amount of weakness in it pounded guilt straight into Hachiman's mind.

". . . Y-Yeah." Hachiman felt like he would barf at any moment out of pure awkwardness.

"_Are you . . . okay?_"

". . . Huh? I should be asking you that. Y-You're the one who . . . yeah . . ."

"_No, that's not . . . you closed the door. Even after seeing me._" . . . What?

"Yeah, that seems like common courtesy, you know."

"_But, why?_"

"Eh? What are you, a pervert?" He said without thinking, looking at the door as if she was standing there.

"_No, I mean . . . ugh, I mean d-do you feel any sexual attraction t-to me right now?_"

". . . So you are a perv. I could just leave you here, you know."

"_I'm not a pervert, it's just . . . usually, men . . . they usually want to . . . do things to me when they see_ _me._" Hachiman scoffed.

"Why are you worried about that kind of stuff right now? It's just sad."

"_. . . you're not . . . going to hurt me, are you?_"

Oh. Oh, shit, he might have misread what she said just a little. Ah, shit, now he felt _really_ guilty. I mean, he should have figured that out since she was currently locked in some kind of room naked. What kind of place was this? or used to be? Ugh, he felt like an asshole.

"N-No, I'm not," He said awkwardly. "Listen, do you have something to cover yourself in there?"

"_There are some sheets, but . . . I can't really wear clothes._"

"Why not?"

"_They make my skin blister if I wear anything for too long._"

"Really? Well, you can either be blistered, or I can leave you in there. Which one you want?"

"_You're kind of rude . . . okay, but I can't see. It's dark in here._"

That made sense, seeing as how whatever building it was connected to was destroyed. But his room still had the lights on, even after all this time.

"I'll leave the door open and walk away. Just, promise that you're not some weird computer program and try to incapacitate me."

"_. . . What?_"

"Nothing. Opening the door now." He said. He opened the door a crack, before turning away and climbing out of the hole. "Just hurry up so I can get out of here."

"_You could leave me._"

"Thinking about it."

In truth, maybe it would be easier if he left her here, but he felt guilty enough as it was, he didn't need anything else weighing on his conscience. Even if he turned out he was talking to air this whole time, he should act as if this was all really happening just in case it was. He figured that would be the safest route for him to take. If it turned out he was crazy, someone would eventually notice and get him the help he needed. If he wasn't, hey, good for him.

He closed his eyes and sighed, standing uncomfortably on one foot while he held his injured foot a little off the ground. His priority should be to get that taken care of. What to do after that, he had no idea.

"Are you done yet?" He yelled, not turning around.

"Yes." Her voice was clearer, he figured she was outside the room now. "Could you help me, though?"

He turned back to her. He didn't get a good look at her before, but she looked ordinary enough. She had wrapped herself in a white sheet at the neck, completely covering herself down to her ankles. Blonde hair, blue eyes, some kind of foreigner. She was pretty, he had to admit, but that just made him trust her even less. Pretty girls were never to be trusted. Of course she needed help with something.

_No shit, asshole, she was probably stuck in that room against her will. Now's not the time to be harsh._

"What is it?"

"I need to take these with me." She put a hand through the sheet to show a small metal container with a needleless syringe.

". . . Are you a druggie?"

"No, it's my food. I have to eat one 'cc' of this a week to sustain myself."

"Really? That's it?"

"Yes. Unfortunately, no other food will keep me alive."

"What is it, water from the fountain of youth." She looked at him with wide eyes, then immediately looking away when they made eye contact. _Weird._

". . . was that a joke?"

"Obviously? Wait, is it actually?" He said, eyeing at the metal thing in her hands. He was already beginning to question his sanity yet again.

"No, it's not, I'm just . . . it's just surprising you can still make jokes in a situation like this."

"Hm? Oh, I guess so, huh?" He supposed it was weird to make jokes in what could _potentially_ be a nuclear wasteland in front of what could _potentially_ be a sex slave. "Sorry if I made you uncomfortable."

"No, it's . . . nice. I'm just glad you're not attacking me right now." She said, holding her the syringe and metal container to him. He blinked at her, before taking it. He felt like that was a topic he shouldn't make a joke about. "There's a couple more in here, give me a second."

"Sure, take your time. Not like I got anything better to do." He said. She looked at him like he was a math question, before turning back into the room to get the rest of her stuff.

Hachiman looked around the area, studying the horizon. He could see hints of green in one direction, so he figured that they should head in that direction. If she was up with that. If not, oh well, he didn't _need_ to help her. Even if he was right now, it was more out of moral obligation than anything else.

"Okay, I'm done." She said. He turned to her to see that she had five more of those metal containers in her arms, a folder, a rosary, and a bible. That was certainly a weird combination of items, but who was he to judge at the moment seeing as he was holding a laptop in a wasteland. "Can you take these?"

"Sure." He grabbed them from her, although he struggled a bit trying to keep it all balanced, and stepped back as she tried to lift herself out of the whole.

She was struggling to get out and keep the sheet comfortably around her at the same time, as it kept getting snagged on debris when she was almost out. Hachiman watched her trip over herself for a good minute. After the fifth attempt, he figured that was enough.

"Hey, do you need some help?"

"No. I'll get it, just give me a second." She said. After one last struggle, she got out of the whole, though almost stumbled over the sheet again once she tried to stand up. "There, I got it."

"Good. So, who are you?"

"Oh, uh . . . you can call me Lucia."

"Name's Hachiman." _At least, I think. I'm pretty sure, although I can't completely trust what that program told me. _Acting on instinct, he bowed to her. "Nice to meet you."

"O-Oh, it's a pleasure to meet you, Hachiman. Thank you for helping me out here." She said, awkwardly returning the bow.

"So . . . Do you have any idea what to do?" He asked. She blinked, looking at him weirdly.

"I thought you would have some kind of plan in place."

"What brought you to that conclusion?" He asked her incredulously. "I have no idea what I'm doing."

"Unfortunately, the location of this site was kept hidden from me, for obvious reasons. I'm as lost as you are." She sighed in defeat. "How did you come upon this place anyways?"

"Me, I was in that room over there," he said, pointing to the only standing structure, barely close enough where he could still make it out against the horizon. "I think I was living inside a laptop or something."

"I . . . see." I didn't sound like she did. "So you must be in the same boat as me."

"Eh, maybe. I honestly have no memory of . . . anything really. I mean, there's stuff I vaguely remember, but I'm not even sure if those are real or not."

"O-Oh . . . I see."

"Yeah. So, you're probably our best bet for anything."

"I see. Then we're in trouble."

"Would seem that way," Hachiman said, and then looked over towards the horizon. "There are signs of grass growing in that direction. Hopefully, we can come across some kind of road or path, and from there we can find a town and hopefully a police station or something."

"Out of the question." She said suddenly. Hachiman blinked in confusion as he looked back at her.

"Why? You're not some criminal are you?"

". . . You really don't know what this place is? Or, was, I suppose." She looked at him with equal confusion.

"No . . . I'm not a criminal, too, am I?"

"I'm not a criminal," she said, annoyed. She looked down at the ground in thought, before looking back up. "I will explain all this to you once we're in a more . . . comfortable state. Just know that going to any kind of authority is not the best option for either of us."

". . . Okay, look, if I'm gonna be stuck with you, I'm going to need some kind of explanation about what the hell's going on. And no bullshitting me, either, otherwise, we can just go our separate ways." He said, trying to give the sternest look he could, although he didn't know how much of an impact it would have on someone who wouldn't look him in the eye.

The girl was silent for a long time, staring at the ground in deep thought, clenching her fists at her side. She then closed her eyes and started to do . . . he guessed they were breathing exercises? Either way, it creeped him out. This whole situation was kind of creepy. Why was he even going along with this? Simple, he didn't know any better. He knew next to nothing at all about . . . anything really. Not this place, whatever it used to be, not this girl, not even himself. He was absolutely clueless, and as a result, absolutely powerless. It irked him just how much he actually needed this person he couldn't trust, but those were the cards he was given. Nothing he could do about it now, so reflecting on the unfairness of the situation was pointless.

"Okay," she opened her eyes, "in the folder, there's-"

"Hands are full, remember?" He said tonelessly.

"O-Oh, right. Give it here." He handed off his luggage to her. "Now, in the folder, there should be a packet. Don't take out the letter, it's personal. Just the packet."

"All right," he said, rolling his eyes. This was beginning to get troublesome.

He pulled out a packet, maybe two or three papers stapled together, out of the folder. He left a single piece of crinkled lined-paper alone. He figured that's what she didn't want him to see. Oh well, hopefully, it wasn't dangerous. He would just have to make sure later.

"This thing?" He asked, studying it.

"Yes. Just read it."

On the top left corner there was a small symbol, a circle-looking thing with that surrounded three arrows pointing inward at an empty space. Under it, the label "_SCP_" could be read almost as big as the symbol itself. It was an official-looking report, with the words "_SCP - 166_" printed across the top as a header.

_166? Wasn't that the thing on her doorway?_ He looked up at her (she found the ground very interesting for some reason), then back at the paper. Out of some type of habit, he began to read out loud.

"Special Containment Procedures: SCP - 166 is to-"

"That's not relevant at the moment," She interrupted him, causing him to look up at her. She was looking at his chest right now. Progress, he supposed. "Just skip to the description." He frowned at her in displeasure, before going back to reading the packet.

* * *

"_Description: SCP-166 appears to be a female human in her late teens, of average height and slender build. Medical and physiological analysis indicates several deviations from baseline human norms, including accelerated hair growth (approximately 20cm per month), vulnerability to airborne particulate matter such as cigarette smoke and aerosols (which can induce symptoms similar to an acute asthma attack), increased sensitivity to pressure ulcers, and alterations in dietary requirements._

_SCP-166 is noted for her unusual effect upon human males. Upon establishing visual contact with SCP-166, 100% of human males tested attempted immediate sexual contact, regardless of their normal sexual orientation. In approximately 70% of these test subjects, the impulse faded after being removed from SCP-166's presence. In 30% of these cases, however, the desire turned into obsession, resulting in violent attempts to gain access to SCP-166. Class-A amnestics were efficacious in 43% of these cases; the remainder required termination._

_SCP-166's effect on males causes her no small amount of distress, not least due to her desire to follow a monastic life based on the principles of chastity, poverty, and obedience. For this reason and others, contact between her and any human male is strictly prohibited._" (**1**)

* * *

As he finished, he looked up at the girl, who was looking at his chest.

"I see. So you're just crazy, huh?" Well, it made sense. This was probably a mental health hospital that burned down. That would explain a lot, honestly. The girl frowned at his chest.

"You're rude. And no, I'm not crazy. What you just read is 100 percent the truth, even if it sounds impossible. That's kind of the forte here."

"Uh-huh." He said, ready with a retort before she cut him off.

"How do you explain that our rooms were basically untouched while the rest of this place was completely obliterated?"

"We're both in an insane asylum and imagining this." He said without hesitation.

"Yet you have an official report. I doubt they would let a mental health patient have access to something that would deteriorate their delusions farther."

"Well . . . you got me there." He said. The girl sighed and closed her eyes in apparent irritation.

"You can see why I was so confused during our interactions," she said. "At first, I believed you were hiding your true gender or were some kind of inhuman being. But I have yet to even get itchy with these clothes, and the quality of the air did not cause the reaction in me that it should have. I suppose that your anomalous properties must have something to do with that."

"I see," _No the hell I don't. What the hell does that mean?_ "I don't blame you for being wary of me."

"Thank you. Before, my interactions with men have been . . . well, terrifying, really." She said, looking at the ground.

"So, they kept you in that room to keep you from being . . . attacked?" He hated that he hesitated to find the right word, but it felt too wrong to just flat out say that every guy she ever met had tried to sexually assault her. He wanted to say something to comfort her right now, but he didn't know how to do that, or even if he should. It was a delicate ground, and he was just a stranger after all. She had only revealed this side to him because he pushed her into it. Ah, crap, now the guilt was overwhelming.

"Not really, although to keep me contained they ensured that as well. I'm an abnormality, a deviation in the screen of life that doesn't belong with the rest of the pattern. The Foundation specialized in containing _things_ like me." She said. He frowned at the emphasis she used on "things," but decided not to bring that up right now. He didn't need some emotionally draining conversation right now, especially after what he just went through.

"I see. So this whole placed housed people like us."

"No." She said. He blinked in confusion. "There were some humans, sure, but there were a lot of inhuman things that they kept locked away here. I only know of a couple, really, and just by chance."

"Oh . . . So, anyways. Those things in your hands, I guess those are for the 'alterations' in your diet." He attempted to change the subject. She suddenly coughed violently at that statement, almost dropping all the stuff in her hands.

She looked around (she knew they were alone, what was the point?) before getting closer and pointing at a paragraph on the packet. He took a second to catch her hint before beginning to read.

"_SCP-166 requires no sustenance save approximately 1 cc of human . . ._" (**2**) he trailed off at the sight of the next word. He looked over at the small metal containers. Oh. Oh. _Oh._

He looked up at the girl. He looked at the containers. He looked at the packet. He looked at the girl.

"I see," He said as he put the packet in the folder and closed it. "If anything, we should probably get as far away from here as possible."

"Lead the way." She said, seemingly grateful to have _finally _changed the subject (at least in a successful manner). Hachiman shrugged and started limping in the direction he was looking at earlier. "Wait, you're hurt?"

"Huh?" He turned back to face her. "Oh, no, it's just I stepped on something sharp. It'll be fine." But she wasn't listening anymore. Instead, she started to study the ground around her, picking up and putting down various pieces of debris. "Oi, what are you doing?"

She didn't answer him as she picked up a particularly sharp piece of debris, and started to cut along the sheet. Audible sounds of cotton tearing broke the silent atmosphere around them. Hachiman watched her work, confused and curious as to what she was doing.

"Come here," she said, standing up with a long strip of fabric in her hand. _Oh, a bandage._

"Thanks," he said, stepping a bit closer and showing her his foot. She kneeled as much as she could and wrapped the strip around the wound three times before tying it off. He noticed that her hands were trembling as she did so, and she always hovered just enough away from him, as if she was afraid to touch him.

"It's the least I could do after you let me out of that room." She said, standing up and hurriedly backing away from him. _Oi, that's kind of insulting, you know?_

"I guess so." Hachiman figured now wouldn't be a good time to ask her why she was in there. He figured it was something kind of depressing and psychologically scarring, though. Kind of like what he had just escaped from himself.

"Well, standing around isn't going to help, so,"

"_Ouais, allez-vous,_" Hachiman said, turning to continue walking.

"Was that French?"

"Huh?" He asked without turning to look at her. "Oh, yeah, I guess. Though I don't remember learning it."

"I see . . . you know, you're being awfully open to someone you just met. I could be dangerous."

"I guess you could be." She was silent at that. He could feel her eyes studying him as he walked. He didn't care to be looked at, though he wished she was a little more polite with her behavior given how he just saved her ass a minute ago.

". . . you're . . . human, right?" This time Hachiman looked back at her, though only to see if this girl was being serious.

"What kind of question is that? What else would I be, an orca?" He scoffed. She blinked at him, then chuckled to herself._ Oi, what's so funny? I was insulting you, ya know._

"I'm sorry, it's just that that's such a relief," she said. She looked at him but still refused to make eye contact. His eyes weren't _that _repulsive, were they?

"Weirdo." He said, turning away. What kind of troublesome individual did he get himself involved with?

". . . Hachiman?" She asked, her voice sounding far away. He looked back at her, to see that she was looking down at herself in wonder. "The sheet . . . doesn't itch."

". . . Allow me to go contact the local news." He said, rolling his eyes.

"No, I . . . usually, the blisters would start by now." She said, rubbing the nape of her neck where the sheet met her skin.

"Oh. Well, that's good for you, I guess."

"Yes, it is." She said, still looking confused. "But, why . . . ?"

"Hey, don't get too distracted. I won't hesitate to leave you behind."

". . . You're rude."

* * *

It hadn't been that long, maybe twenty minutes, before the finally could walk normally without fear of stepping on a possibly life-threatening piece of metal. It was a relief, though he still wanted to know what happened to this place, and how they somehow survived. He supposed he could keep on living without figuring it out, seeing as he had bigger problems at the moment. He made a little checklist to cover their problems in terms of priority.

**1.** His wound was still bleeding.

**2.** Lucia was still naked under that sheet.

**3.** They had no idea where they were or any idea about what to do.

**4.** Hachiman could only remember bits and pieces of himself, but for the most part, he was . . . lost.

**5.** He was starting to get hungry.

Okay, maybe that last one should be higher up on his list of things to take care of, but he digressed. Overhead, the afternoon sun beat down on the pair as they walked forward in silence, Lucia trailing behind him as he limped forward. Even this far out, he still couldn't see any sign of life outside of this place. Maybe there wasn't anything out there, at least not within a distance that they could get to by walking.

Which, for obvious reasons, was bad news all around.

He glanced at the girl behind him, who was carrying her bible and . . . he was just gonna call them _snacks_, and her folder.

_Ugh, I feel so bad for this chick._ He thought to himself, looking in front of him again. _Eh, I guess she does what she has to. It won't be awkward as long as I don't see it. I don't need any dirty thoughts, especially around her._

As they walked, he noticed that there was a gravel path that had been cut off suddenly by the grass. Following it, the path seemed to lead back to the wasteland they had just come from. He assumed that this was the way to . . . well, he didn't know what. It could be another "facility" where they would immediately be captured, or it could lead to a main road where they could find a town or something. Either way, following it was surer than walking blindly in a random direction.

"Hey, Lucy," He spoke up, probably startling the girl. "Did you ever hear about a second facility or whatever around here?"

"If you're referring to the Site, I do not think so. I'm my experience, they try to keep them a good distance from one another. Every transfer I've ever had hasn't been anything less of a six-hour flight or ten-hour drive."

"So this road probably won't lead to another one of those 'Sites,' then, huh?"

"I don't know. I'm guessing not, but there's no way to be sure."

"Well, I guess we just follow this until- . . . what is that?" He switched his tone suddenly as he saw a large metal object a couple of meters down the path, partially obscured by a low brush.

"Hm? What is what?"

"That thing, down there."

". . . That's one of their trucks." She said. Hachiman stopped."So it's safe to say that that means they're close, right?"

". . . I don't think so."

"Why do you say that?" She said.

"Because it doesn't make sense. There had to be garages or something closer to the Site, why was this one the _only_ parked so far away," Hachiman started, gears turning in his head.

"Maybe it was someone trying to escape whatever happened? We could get some answers."

"No, if that were the case, they would have just kept on driving." He said, turning to her, and trying to ignore how scared she looked at his sudden movement. "Think about it. Why drive, what, two, three miles out, then not only abandon your means of escape but go through the effort of hiding it?"

". . . Because they hid it before this all went down." She said, realizing. "Wait, but there could have been another reason why this was kept here. Maybe there was something important in it, so they-"

"Come on, think!" He said, rubbing his forehead. "The only way you couldn't have seen it is if you were in whatever building was over there. Hell, we spotted it just by coming down the road. If they were hiding something, they would have done at least a better cover-up than this."

"Does all that really matter right now?" She asked. Hachiman scoffed, then turned back to it.

"Yes. Because the reason it was left here is the deciding choice on whether or not to steal it."

"Steal it?!"

"Yes, steal it. In case you haven't noticed, we're in a pretty desperate situation right now. Whatever problem you have with this right now, I suggest you bring it up with me after we get somewhere _marginally_ safer. Or at the very least under some shade."

She did not respond, but she did make a disapproving noise. He rolled his eyes before his brain went into overdrive, analyzing all the factors that had presented themselves to him.

"The way I see it, there are two possibilities. Whoever put that there _knew _what was going to happen, and was waiting for a chance to escape before it did but never pulled it off, and got wiped out with everything else. The second is that it was left for us."

"What? Why would they leave something for us?"

"Well, I could theorize the motives behind that all day, but it's just a possibility. Evidence: according to my conversation with my digital prison warden, whoever put me under that thing did so in a way that only someone in a hurry would. '_Extremely sloppily,_' was the exact phrasing. But, they also did so far longer than a week ago, so that's the only bust in that theory," He said, scratching his head.

". . . I see." He doubted she did. "Well, if it was left for us, it would be rude not to accept."

"Sure, whatever you need to tell yourself." He said. "You know how to hotwire?"

* * *

(**1**) Official SCP - 166 report from the SCP site.

(**2**) "SCP-166 requires no sustenance save approximately 1 cc of human semen, administered orally on a weekly basis. Arrangements have been made with a local sperm bank for this purpose. On-site procurement will be carried out in emergencies only. Despite the fact that SCP-166 requires no other sustenance, the subject can consume normal human food, and does do so."


	6. The Broken God and Headlights

_Mes nuits sont blanches, mes idées noires._

_._

* * *

The man walked down the street, a passion in his step had rarely had with anything else. Last night he had made an important decision, and he found himself invigorated by it.

He turned to a normal-looking building, something that you wouldn't go to unless you had business there. Of course, it betrayed what laid inside.

A place of redemption, where one could shed their evil imperfections for a higher calling, an all-knowing and all-accepting god. A god who taught how to rise above the evil and brokenness of flesh. It was at this place where the man had found purpose almost two years ago, had found his reason to continue living.

Yes, from an outside perspective, the man had everything. Power, wealth, influence, a picture-perfect family. But those things were so empty to him, so pointless. Whatever power or influence he had gained outside of this place was nothing compared to what his god could offer. He loved his family, but at this point, he felt that he was the only one who felt their relationship to be that of a . . . well, genuine family. His daughters were constantly at each other's throats, no matter how much they tried to hide it from him, and his wife was all-manipulating, driven by the shallow pursuit of earthly success and fulfillment.

But he knew better. He could not blame them for their ignorance, he had been ordered to keep his religion secret from them, for the good of the Church. But he was here to show them a better way, the true path. The path that his god had broken himself to lay for them.

As he entered the building, he saw a truly magnificent being conversing with fellow believers such as himself. The man felt himself swell with joy and pride as he looked onto this vision of what he could be. What, in his mind, perfection looked like.

The being turned, now noticing the man who had stepped in.

"**Mr. Yukinoshita, what a surprise.**" The large figure said with a surprised smile on his face, dismissing the two other followers he had been conversing with before.

Being a politician, Yukinoshita Hitori was used to dealing with people when they had something of a facade up. It was necessary when dealing with large amounts of people or another politician, there was always something underneath the layer. He had prided himself on knowing who was putting up a front, even if he had never been the best at determining what was underneath it. As he progressed in the world of politics, he noticed that the more power an individual had, the more of a masquerade they were playing. Even if Hitori knew that this man knew where he was every second of every day, even his surprise was genuine for some reason. After all, there was very little His Holiness did not know.

He had never before dealt with someone with so much true power, and so truly genuine in nature, as His Holiness Edward Bumaro. As expected of a priest for the Broken God.

"Your Holiness, please pardon my intrusion," Hitori said, his native accent thickly present in the foreign tongue He bowed to the man, out of respect for him, even if they did not share cultures. Yukinoshita Hitori would not bow to anyone else. "I was hoping to speak with you regarding-"

"**Just a moment, Hitori,**" Edward interrupted, turning from him. "**To my study.**"

Hitori did not hesitate in following the man. He never did. For the last two years, he had followed this Church. He had not known when his mind had turned towards their god, but it had. Their ways, their teachings, it was all . . . well, it was unarguable logic. He had seen too much, he knew too much, to even begin to doubt the existence of Mekhane. Even when he had to loosen his hold on the politics of the ignorant world outside the Broken Church to follow Edward's teachings, he had no doubts in his mind, despite his wife's many objections.

He had already undergone his first Ascension a month ago, which replaced his limbs with metal augmentations that could perform numerous things. His hands could take on the appearance of actual skin, to keep his public image safe, and they were more than combat-ready. The fact that they had some kind of power source that he could not see, find, nor explain the origins of only strengthened the belief in his god. Unfortunately, to believe in his god was the accept the existence of another, but he wouldn't focus on that right now.

As they entered Edward's study, the light of the setting sun that fell through the window fell onto the figure, highlighting the complete metal body of His Holiness. This, Hitori knew, was _true_ perfection could look like. A body and being of pure intellect, having cast aside the almost animistic nature of humanity. The body flowed with the complete natural movement of flesh while reflecting what true perfection could look like. A testament to Mekhane, the true god. Something that Hitori aspired to reach with his Final Ascension, exactly eight years from now should he stay on the path, and a little over ten years for his family to join him should this talk with His Holiness go well.

Along the walls, their teachings lined up to put the values of Mekhane on full display. Technology advanced decades, possibly centuries, ahead of the general public, that they would most likely never see in their full glory, and if they did these machines would already be advanced even further towards perfection, working to rebuild the body of their god. The clean white tiles of the floor matched perfectly with the color of the walls, ceiling, even the furniture. It was simple and efficient, and the organized state of the room allowed for creativity to flow while studying the words of their "bible" or working to find another piece of their god.

"**So, Mr. Yukinoshita,**" the figure said, sitting down in the large chair behind a desk, with stacks of small machines neatly placed all over in perfect order. Hitori would often reflect on the fact that had he chosen to stray from the path of the Broken God, that he would never experience technology advanced as this. Watching His Holiness, he was forced to stand across from him, seeing as there was no furniture placed in a way that would allow comfortable conversation. "**Of what issue brings you to my company?**"

Despite his inhuman appearance, Edward Bumaro was one of the most "human" beings he had ever met, in the ways that it counted at least. Done away with the most useless of moralities of the ill-informed population, a true follower of Mekhane, he still had the necessary emotions for life and humanity. He was perhaps more human than any standard human he had ever met.

"It's with regards to my family, your Holiness-"

"**Please, Mr. Bumaro will do. 'Your Holiness' reminds me too much of my father.**"

". . . Mr. Bumaro, I wish to inform my family of the Church." Hitori, like every follower of Mekhane, appreciated preciseness.

"**. . . Hmm . . . yes, I see. They do not know you are** **here?**"

"No, I had told them I was meeting with a foreign politician for trade negotiation." He did not enjoy lying. To lie was to deny someone intellect, something he felt was against the very nature of his Broken God. Still, it was a firm argument on his part, and he had announced it the day before his departure at a dinner meeting with other members of the diet. His daughter Yukino did not care, his other daughter Haruno was busy elsewhere at the time, and while he could not trick his wife, she was held back by the present company from confronting him on the true nature of his visit. _She must suspect me to be disloyal. I am nothing if that._

"**Hm, I would have thought you had already informed them . . . Well, if you believe it so, then do as you wish.**"

". . ." Already informed them? What had His Holiness meant by that? And to agree so easily as well. He had assumed there would be some great back-and-forth about the meaning of the Church, their goal, and Mekhane's great gift to the world.

"**Is something wrong, Mr. Yukinoshita?**"

"N-No, Mr. Bumaro, but . . . I was under the assumption we were still operating under the 'absolute secrecy' rule."

"**Well, yes, we are. You see, we've been operating under that rule towards the general public because of our arrangement with the SCP** **Foundation,**" Hitori shivered a bit at the mention of that name."**But that applied to the _general public_. When it comes to people with direct relations to those in the Church, exceptions can be made. Not to mention, every day we grow closer to _that day_, and we need numbers on our side.**"

"Yes, it's just . . . I thought there would be a lot more of an argument."

"**Why would I ever act in a way to lead people away from Mekhane? Of course, there are those instances, but-**"

"Instances?"

"**Where someone invited rejects the teachings of the Broken Church. Of course, before the arrangement with the Foundation, this wasn't a problem, but being forced to keep our true nature hidden leads to . . . well, unsavory consequences would not do it justice. If you truly wish for your family to adopt the faith, you must be certain they are ready for it.**" The mechanical man looked down on Hitori with sympathy in his glowing eyes, and Hitori nodded in understanding. He had the absolute belief that his family would see the truth that Mekhane offered. That one could reach perfection through technology and intellect. That flesh and life, in default, was evil and broken, and through Mekhane and his ways, they could become whole again.

"Of course, Mr. Bumaro, I do not doubt that they'll be ready to accept Mekhane-"

"**You never considered the possibility that they may refuse the path of our religion, have you?**"

". . ." Hitori could only respond to His Holiness with stunned silence. What in the world was being insinuated? That he was stupid, or that he did not know his own family?

"**Before you start, I meant no insult in my words. I know of your absolute conviction in Mekhane, but I do not have to remind you that there are people that do not hold that conviction. They are still human, and thus are unpredictable and broken in nature. Even if it is the truth, they may twist it into a lie, or refuse to see it immediately. Our way of life is a drastic change from what they are living now. You cannot ignore the chances of rejection, no matter how minuscule you believe them to be.**"

". . . I see . . . in truth, I have no reason to doubt that they would accept Mekhane, but as you said they are indeed unpredictable in nature."

"**Yes. If they were to reject, the most favorable outcome would be to erase their memory of ever finding out. That is the _most favorable_ outcome. We are still under an agreement with the SCP foundation. If they were to find out that there are people out there with knowledge of 'the anomalous,' who knows what actions they would take, and per the conditions of our agreement, I would not be able to step in.**"

". . ." Hitori was silent now. He had walked into this building, something akin to a chapel for the followers of the Broken Church, with absolute confidence and conviction. Now he saw that it was just foolish human pride and arrogance to believe he could predict something as irrational as human behavior. Of course, His Holiness was not telling him that he should not inform his family of his religion and the truth behind it, only to be cautious of the consequences behind it. Hitori had thought he had abandoned his foolish emotions, but once again they had clouded his judgment.

Although even considering this, he could not help but feel anger at the Jailors, as he likes to call those under the employ of the Foundation. Everyone, Mekhanite or not referred to them as such. Simply grabbing up and jailing anything that would affect the qualities of "normalcy" that held back almost every single human on this planet. Forced ignorance was in his mind one of the gravest sins against Mekhane one could commit. He was the god of metal, technology, and intellect. To deprive one of intellect would be to hurt Mekhane directly, and the Jailors did more of that than even the G.O.C.

"**Speaking of the Foundation, there is something I must speak with you on while I have you. I was going to call you later today, but since you've taken it upon yourself to visit, I should get it out of the way.**"

"Concerning the Foundation?" What could those Jailors want with him? Certainly, the Church didn't agree to have him help them directly, it was bad enough they were forced to associate with them in the first place.

"**Yes. You are not apart of the council, but I am telling you this because of the respect I have for you and your actions within the Church, and the information I have just received affects you directly.**" Hitori was silent, secretly enjoying the words of praise from His Holiness, one of the few Ascended. "**About eight months ago, your daughter's clubmate, Hachiman Hikigaya, was reported as missing correct.**" Hitori blinked, taken aback by the sudden statement.

". . . That is correct. But, with all due respect your Holiness, I do not believe I informed you of that."

"**You did not need to. You are a member of the Church, and therefore I am aware of every happening that affects you. Knowledge is a sure path to perfection.**" Hitori nodded, his troubles put at ease with a few words. "**I am reminding you of that because, about a week ago, one of the SCP sites near England was reported destroyed. According to them, it was almost instantaneous, with very few of their captives surviving.**"

"And Hikigaya Hachiman is in some way related?" Hitori said. Edward blinked.

"**I thought his first name was . . . ah, cultural difference. My apologies. I've been ignoring those trivial things since my Ascension. Yes, he is. They told me he was one of the few beings they had 'housed' there to survive, and he is currently missing with several other items of interest to them.**"

"He was housed there? So he must have had some super-natural properties then."

"**Yes. They said they discovered him around that time and immediately contained him.**"

"I see . . ." He would have to process that information later. Right now, he would need to focus on one of the few conversations he had with his Holiness. "So, you believe he is returning to Chiba, then?"

"**Yes, it is the only logical option for him as far as I am aware. Unfortunately, they would not relent any more information other than he can suppress anomalous abilities within an area around him.**"

Hitori was silent for a moment. Why tell him all this? There had to be a logical reason, His Holiness did not act without one.

"So because he was close to my daughter, you believe his return would threaten our arrangement with the Foundation in some way, is that it?"

"**Yes. You see, the Foundation has given me some troubling information. They do not reveal much about their operations, but the object classes are something that is basic information. You see, they gave him two object classes-**"

"Two?" Hitori was not quite sure what that implied.

"**Indeed, you can imagine my surprise. Usually, the Foundation likes to keep things efficient. But, he's described as a Thaumiel and Euclid. Meaning he was being used to contain something as well as being contained himself.**"

"So, what does this mean for me?" There was a moment of silence as glints passed through Edward Bumaro's eyes before His Holiness spoke again.

"**I don't know.**"

That one sentence was so simple, so harmless in nature. And yet, it spoke volumes from the man across from him, who wore a sympathetic smile. Yukinoshita Hitori could be in danger, or he could gain an ally. He could lose everything, or nothing could come of it. All he knew was Hikigaya Hachiman was coming, and he couldn't stop him from doing so.

_._

_._

_._

_It is believed that on December 31st, 2019, an apocalyptic outbreak of a disease concocted by  
__the followers of Yaldabaoth, the one who He broke His body to imprison for  
__the sake of mankind will threaten the world._

_Today is September_ _14th_

.

.

.

**The Maker of Machines versus The God of Flesh Saga**

Chapter 1: The Broken God

* * *

"_Aaaaaaaand_, there!" Lucy said as the truck started with a roar.

As it turned out, she did know how to hot-wire a car. Imagine that. He didn't expect that from her, he was just hoping that they would find a spare set of keys in the glove box or something.

"Where'd you learn how to do that?" Hachiman asked as she stepped out of the driver seat.

"Movies. Some things are exaggerated, of course, but you never know what useful information you might get." She said.

"So these people had no problem showing you a movie you could have possibly used to escape," He questioned.

". . . I had no reason to escape before. In fact, I had every reason to stay. But now, I can be free." She said, a slight ting of hope in her voice.

". . . Right." He said tactlessly. "Let's just get on the road."

"Of course," She said, not moving from her standing position

"You don't know how to drive, do you?" He asked hopefully.

"Unfortunately, that's not a skill you can learn from movies, so . . . no." Hachiman sighed.

"Well, I guess I'll have to do it. First time for everything, right?" He stepped around her and sitting in the driver seat.

Looking around the truck, there wasn't much in there. There were no markings of any kind, not even on the buttons. How was he supposed to figure out how to work the radio, much less drive this thing? He reached around the cabin, opening compartments and looking for anything that might have been left here.

"What are you doing?" Lucy asked as she opened the passenger door and got in.

"Looking for . . . well, anything, really. Anything we can find out about what happened to that place," he gestured behind him, "or about this truck, or about the outside world, or about _us_. Right now, we're gonna be driving blind, so I'd like to get as much info as I can before heading off."

"Makes sense," she said, opening the glove box and began to rummage around, "I just don't know what you expect to . . . _no . . ._"

"Huh?" He said, turning to her. If he was a gambling man, he could have sworn she sounded angry just now. "What is it?"

"Nothing, just some trash." She said, holding a small package in her hands. She rolled down the window and made to throw the package out.

"Hey, now," He said, grabbing from her hand just as she was about to throw it out.

"Hey!" She yelled in protest.

"At least let me see it first before deciding it's garbage all on your own." He looked down at the package. It was a small-ish brown box, with duct tape wrapped around the ends. On the face were the words:

"_Dr. Bright and 005. Please be gentle, Hothead~! __Find me a real good body!_

_P.S., If there's a list attached to me, it's best to just ignore it. Thanks!_

_P.P.S., there's a letter for your companion, if she's with you of course._"

". . . Dr. Bright?" Hachiman said out loud. That name sounded familiar for some reason. He could swear that he'd heard it somewhere before, though he couldn't put his finger on it. Next to him, Lucy made a sound of indignation.

"It's best to just leave that guy here." Lucy crossed her arms. "I don't feel like dealing with him ever again, thank you very much."

"Wait, there's a guy in here?" He said, turning the box around and studying the dimensions, figuring it was _highly_ unlikely to contain a person.

"Sort of . . . *_Sigh_* You might as well open it now. Just don't touch the amulet in there, okay?" She said, sounding slightly defeated. He gave her a side-glance, before opening the box slowly.

Inside the box sat two items, placed neatly in a small mold. The first was an amulet, around 2 inches across, wrapped in so many layers of clear plastic that he could just barely make out the features of it. It seemed to be made from some gold material, with thirteen diamonds surrounding an oval-shaped ruby in the center of the amulet, and a bronze chain was connected at the top. Next to it was a bronze key, about the same size as the amulet, that looked like it had been made 80 years ago, wrapped in a small layer of plastic. On the sides of the box were two pieces of paper that were taped to the sides. He took them out and unfolded them, reading each one after the other.

"_SCP-005; a brief description. __SCP-005 has the unique ability to open any and all forms of lock, either mechanical or digital, with relative ease. The origin of this ability has yet to be determined.__ Minimal containment is necessary._

_SCP-963; a brief description. Any living anthropoid that comes into direct skin contact with the amulet has their mind-wiped, and the mind of Dr. Bright is projected from the amulet onto the subject. It is known that memories native to Dr. Bright transfer from host to host. After the amulet is removed, all higher brain functions in the subject cease until it is returned. Should the amulet remain on a subject for more than 30 days, the subject copies the brain functions of Dr. Bright and retains an independent copy of the consciousness of D. Bright after the amulet is removed. When Dr. Bright is possessing a subject, the amulet should remain completely visible. When not attached to a host, minimal containment necessary._"

Hachiman finished reading, closing his eyes as he took in a deep breath.

"Of course these would be in here," He said, opening his eyes. "I guess you have a history with this 'Dr. Bright' guy?"

"I've interacted with 'him' a couple of times," she said. "Three in total, every time it was someone completely different, wearing that amulet, calling themselves Dr. Bright. Nothing bad happened to me, he was just . . . extremely weird."

"How's that?"

"He once told me, while in the body of a female doctor, that he was not automatically attracted to me, but he simply chose to be. I was glad he wasn't . . . trying anything with me, but it was still not a very pleasant thing to say."

". . . Yeah, I guess that's kind of weird." Hachiman said. He liked being him and didn't want to take the chance that this wasn't bullshit. It probably was, but he wasn't about to find out if it wasn't. "So, I guess he's the one who put this stuff here?" He said, pulling out a semi-thick folded packet, with the bolded label "**The Things Dr. Bright Is Not Allowed To Do**" with the words "**At The Foundation**" crossed out.

"It looks like it. If he's behind it, then this could be either extremely dangerous. Or it could just be Bright being himself." She said as Hachiman shuffled around the box.

"He did mention you on top of the box, but I'm not seeing any letter or anything."

"If it's from Bright, I think it's best if I don't read it."

"Well, maybe it has a clue as to what we're supposed to do now," he said, pulling up the plastic mold, careful not to touch any of the metallic objects. Underneath it was a piece of lined-paper, that looked like it had been touched and ruffed up multiple times but just barely held on. He pulled it out carefully. "I think I found it."

"You can read that, the last thing I want is _anything _to do with Bright," she said, opening her Bible. Hachiman looked at her out of the corner of his eye, before turning back to the piece of paper in his hand, the writing slightly visible through the paper.

Maybe he shouldn't read this thing. After all, this was meant for her. What if it had some personal stuff that he wasn't supposed to see? Or what if this "Dr. Bright" was as weird as she made him out to be and there was some stuff like that in this? But then again, he needed as much information as possible, and he had gotten her permission to read it already. Eh, what did he have to lose?

* * *

"_Dear Epon,_

_I hope you're doing well. As well as one can be in your situation, at least. This is the second time I've written to you, only to tell you that I've finally gotten you your freedom, and made plans to keep it that way. With you is, while a very strange man, someone who can help you. He'll be very confused at times, so you'll have to help him to survive. With him, you'll be completely safe, safer than anything I ever attempted. As long as you two keep your heads down and stay away from anything . . . like yourselves, you should go completely unnoticed. _

_I know you'll be horrified with me over what I've done, and horrified with yourself. Know that this was going to happen regardless of my motives. The deaths of everything and everyone at this site is on my head, but you were in no part responsible for the making of it. I was planning this long before I knew you existed. But I could not let you die alongside everything else._

_I do not know how you two will get along, and I hate that I have to put your future in the hands of someone else, but it c__an't be helped. If you're reading this, it means I won't be able to help you anymore. I was there when you turned sixteen. I wish, with all my heart, that I could have reached out to you, to let you know that your father loved you, but they wouldn't let me. I don't know how old you'll be when you finally get this letter. As soon as I finish writing this, a plan will be set in motion, starting with my suicide._

_There's so much I want to talk with you about face-to-face, but we'll never have the chance. You don't know how sorry I am about that._

_I'm sorry I was never there for you. I'm sorry for the things you had to go through. I'm sorry I can't be there for you after this._

_With all his love, your father,  
Alto Clef_

* * *

Hachiman folded the letter, a ping of guilt as he finished reading. He had read through it relatively fast, but this seemed like something way too personal for him to have read. Without a word, he held out the letter to Lucy.

"Hm? So is it from Bright?" She asked, staring warily at the letter.

"It's from your father." He said. He watched as her eyes slightly widened and her body tensed up. She did not respond, simply sitting there and staring at the paper in silence. After a moment, she took it from his hands and set it down on her bible.

She did not say anything for a long time, simply staring down at it. She must have been afraid of what the letter said, not knowing what could be written in it. Hachiman felt grimy, he had pushed himself into something that should have been just between father and daughter. Even if neither of them knew what was on it when he originally read it, it still felt wrong somehow.

Rather than say anything, Hachiman put the car into drive and took off down the gravel road, the distance between them and _that place_ increasing more every second. In this extended silence, Hachiman's thoughts ran wild.

Dr. Bright and Lucy's father had put this whole thing into effect. Whatever there was before, whoever was there before, was dead. Clef had said as much himself. But why? If it wasn't to save his daughter, what was the motived behind killing everything here? Hachiman, with a cold feeling, realized that if Lucy hadn't been born . . .

_I would be dead right now. The only reason I'm alive is that her dad thought I could keep her safe. That's a disturbing thought, but what does that mean for me? I have no obligation to her, but it's not like I can leave her. If she were left on her own . . . Even if that wasn't the case, she's gone this far with me. Her father wanted her to stay close to me, but why should we respect the wishes of a guy claiming responsibility for the deaths of who knows how many people? Why should I?_

His thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of soft sobbing. He glanced over at the blonde girl in the passenger seat, who was trying as hard as she could to keep her crying silent. Her body slightly shook as she stared down at the letter, her hands unsteadily holding it up. Hachiman looked away and focused on the road ahead of him.

.

.

.

How long had he been driving?

Looking over to his left, he saw the sun was just halfway peeking over the horizon. It had been about noon when they found the truck, but he had no idea what time it was now. He couldn't read the freaking sun, after all. It had to have been a couple of hours either way.

Looking back at the road, he slumped back in his seat as he drove on, eyes set on the distance where the road would disappear around bends, behind trees, and over the horizon. How much ground was there left to cover? He didn't know, but he hoped that their end would come before the tank ran out. They had yet to come across any sign of human life, which Hachiman felt increasingly uneasy about.

_If it turns out I'm imagining all this, I might end up jumping off a goddamn bridge._ He thought to himself, then let out an audible sigh. To his left, Lucy had fallen asleep with the letter from her father clutched so tightly Hachiman thought she might accidentally tear it in two. She would occasionally move and make random sounds her sleep, one time speaking in such broken grammar that Hachiman thought she had started speaking another language altogether. He didn't mind tho, he would get some sleep later. He doubted that she could drive, so they would find someplace to stop so he could take a nap. He had the idea that they would find a hotel to sleep in, separate rooms of course, but they had no money.

With that out of the way, he started reflecting over the fact that he could drive. He had concluded that he was hallucinating this along with everything else, or he learned it in whatever life he lived before this. Which begged the question, who was he? What kind of person was he in the past. Looking at himself in the rear-view, his dead-fish eyes glared at him. He guessed he just had resting angry face, or his eyes were just that scary. Either way, he doubted he was very popular looking like this. Maybe he was a delinquent or something. He had to have lived some kind of hard life to look like this.

Even if he used to have a shitty life, it would at least be his life. Right now . . . he felt like a ghost.

". . . _no . . ._" Lucy whimpered in the seat next to him, the sheet crinkled as she shifted uncomfortably. She was probably having a nightmare of some sort, not that it was any of his business. She did just find out her dad died, so this should be a normal reaction.

What about him? Did he actually have a dad? "Totsuka" had said everything he saw was based on his memories, but he couldn't trust them nor that . . . he guessed it was an A.I. Maybe he would stick to calling him "Totsuka," but if that boy actually existed he would have to find another name.

Should he really be focusing on himself right now? Lucy had bigger problems to deal with right now, maybe he should be focusing on her.

Why did he not know what to do about anything? Why was his whole existence a mess right now? He had no direction, no purpose in doing anything other than surviving. He felt . . . empty, honestly.

Like a ghost.

He internally chuckled. That was the second time he's referred to himself as dead within this minute alone. Geez, he was so depressing.

"_. . . no, stop . . . stop touching me . . ._" Lucy whimpered, moving even more restlessly. Hachiman glanced over at her with a concerned eye. He didn't know exactly what her nightmare was about, but he had a pretty good guess. "_. . . please, don't . . . stop . . ._" Her empty pleads had gotten louder.

Hachiman felt his grip tighten against the steering wheel. This reality really was a piece of shit, wasn't it? Eventually, she stopped speaking altogether and began crying in her sleep. Hachiman hated that he had no idea how to help her. He had no hold on his own sense of reality, how was he supposed to help her with her feelings? Anything he could think of would just cause more harm than good.

Suddenly, Hachiman spotted a pair of headlights coming down the road in his direction.

_Another car? Maybe I'm heading in the right direction. Or they might be someone unpleasant, in which case I'm heading in the wrong direction._ He thought as the headlights got closer. _Huh, they're moving pretty fast. I guess you can speed on a backroad like-_

The headlight suddenly shifted towards him.

He stopped thinking as he swerved out of instinct. He could hear the rip of metal as the other car scraped his side, apparently swerving to his lane a second before he had. Adrenaline pumped through his veins as he floored the gas, taking off in the same direction he was going before.

"Unpleasant, definitely unpleasant!" He yelled.

"What's going on?!" Lucy screamed hoarsely, Hachiman's sudden maneuver waking her up.

"I don't know!" He yelled back, looking behind him. The headlight seemed to cross themselves, as if they were two separate things facing each other, before turning to his car and speeding back up. "Someone's after us, though!"

"They found us?!" She said with terror thick in her voice.

"They're catching up! Jesus, they're fast!"

"Don't say his name in vain!" She said, only half-listening to what he had said.

"Really?! Now?!"

The car was catching up with them, even though he was pushing 100. He prepared for them to ram him in the back, only for the impact to never come. He looked in the rearview to see that they weren't behind him, but he could still see the shine from the headlights on each side of his cars.

_Motorcycles? If they're coming up the side, they might have a gun or something. I'll just ram them from the side- . . . what the fuck? Whatthefuckwhathefuckwhatthefuck-_

On each side of the car were things that resembled dinosaurs (probably velociraptors), save the intense light that shined from there head. Though it wasn't so intense he that he couldn't see their brains, wrapped in a web of glowing organs. The rest of their body was pitch black, only visible because of the lights on their head and the setting sun. Their legs were like blurs underneath their bodies, large tails swishing away and child-like hands held close to themselves.

Hachiman was mesmerized by the sight for a moment, before the car was suddenly shoved to their left, the passenger window shattering in an explosion of glass.

"_AAAH!_" Lucy screamed as Hachiman pulled to the right to steady the car. Looking over, he saw that the monster had backed away, and its light was blinking. On instinct, he slammed the brake. The monster that was on the side flew past the front of the car, slamming into its partner, sending them both tumbling into the thick forest to their right. Hachiman slammed on the brake once again, shooting forward to put as much distance between them and those . . . _things_ as possible.

"What was that?!" Lucy screamed hysterically.

"I don't know, just calm down, all right!" He said, pushing on the gas once again. He took off, although the acceleration in this thing wasn't as good as he would have liked.

He was speeding down the back road, trying to keep the truck from flipping over while not slowing down. He could see the flashes of light behind him, a sure sign those things had recovered and were already back on his tail. What to do, what to do?

_I could go through the woods, try to stay close to the trees so they can't get beside me, but I can't risk crashing. Besides, they'd just stay behind me and catch up the moment the woods ended. They're too fast for me to lose, and we don't have any kind of weapon to fight back with. Think, Hachiman, think. Shit, I got nothing!_

On his side, he could see the light brighten as that thing got closer. He hit the brake, letting the thing fly past him. The monster swung something against the car door before it skidded past (Hachiman wasn't sure what), and it impacted with the window, destroying the glass. He turned his head to the side as the shards cut the left side of his face.

_Fuck fuck fuck, this hurts!_ He thought, turning back to the road. He let off the brake and sped up again, ramming the thing with the hood of his car.

It was tossed to the side with a pained screech as Hachiman sped off, its partner still on their tail. He hoped that was enough to at least wound that one thing, but he had to focus on this one right now. He kept one eye open as he felt a warm liquid trickle down over his other, keeping him from seeing out of that one.

_Damn it, I hope it isn't my eye that's wounded._

"Hachiman!" Lucy called out. Barely glancing at her, he saw that she was petrified, holding a handle on the ceiling in a death grip.

"What is it?!" He yelled back.

"Hachiman!" She yelled again. _She's so scared she's not thinking straight. Damn it, this is bad._

"We're going to be fine, okay?! So just calm-" He was interrupted as the monster threw itself against the side of the car, shoving it to the left. Its right side was raised about an inch off the ground for a second, and as soon as it touched the road again Hachiman had to swerve to avoid impact with an oncoming tree. The monster had fallen behind them now, and looking in the rearview he could see the other one running back up to meet its companion.

_Damn it, these things don't give up!_ He thought, focusing back on the road. He could see nothing but dense forest all around them.

He came around a bend and saw that there was a railing that separated the road from a steep hill, that looked like almost a cliff. The sharpness of the turn slightly lifted the truck off balance, and at the same time, both of those monsters hit the side of the truck, pushing it on its side and over the railing.

"SHIT!" Hachiman yelled as the truck started a rolling descent down the hill. Glass and pieces of metal broke off as the truck hit the ground multiple times, rocks and dirt making its way into the cabin through the broken windows. Hachiman and Lucy were flung around as much as their seatbelts would allow.

Hachiman felt his chest bruise and cuts appearing all over his face and exposed skin, trying desperately to hold on to the steering wheel. It occurred to him that Lucy had nothing to hold onto.

The truck came to a resting stop at the bottom of the hill, the passenger side held up against a tree. Hachiman's whole body felt as if it was on fire, pain shooting up and down his chest from the bruising, bleeding from multiple places on his face and neck. He looked over at the blonde girl in the passenger seat. Overall, she looked like she was in pain, but had at least gotten off better than him. If there weren't any internal injuries. She was breathing laboriously with half-lidded eyes, just barely moving as she took in shaky air.

"Hey, are you feeling all right?" He asked her. She was silent, but nodded, seeming to slowly accumulate her strength. "Do you think you can walk?"

". . . _But . . . those things_ . . ." She whispered.

"They're gonna rip through this thing like nothing. We're not safe here, we need to keep moving." He told her. She did not answer, preferring to nod in acknowledgment again. "Can you walk?" He asked again.

"I . . . I think so."

"Okay," he looked out his broken window with his one good eye. There seemed to be no sign of the headlight creatures he had seen before. "I'm going to get out. After that, you try climbing over and following me, okay?" She nodded.

He shakily took off his seatbelt, fighting the urge to grunt as the pressure was lifted off his chest. Opening the door, he stepped out shakily, the impact from the ground encompassing his legs in a tingling sensation. He stepped away from the door and looked back as Lucy was taking off her seatbelt.

"_**Skreee**_**,**" He heard from someplace behind him. Thinking quickly, he locked the door and slammed it shut. As the door closed, he felt a sudden pressure hit his side, and he flew in that same direction. It took a second for the pain in his body to fully register.

He skidded against the ground, grunting with each impact before he slammed violently against a tree, and came to a stop. He laid with his back on the ground, shaking in pure pain as he bled extensively. He opened his one good eye to see that one of the monsters had its light on him, slowly stalking closer each second. Behind it, the other one was scratching at the handle on the door with its child-like hand, trying to get it open, staring at Lucy as she sat in complete terror.

_Damn, do something!_ He yelled at himself internally. He gathered what little energy he had left to push himself up to his knees. He looked up at the monster, who had lowered itself into an ambush stance.

_This thing is going to kill me, they're going to kill both of us if I don't . . . do _something._ But . . . I'm so tired. What can I do now? I'm bleeding so much, I can barely move. I can't fight this thing. I can't protect her, I can't protect myself. I'm so fucking _useless!

_Useless._

_Coward._

_Hachiman._

Did he just use his own name as an insult? Where the hell did that come from? Wait, why was he worrying about that right now?

.

"_Is this all you're good for? Letting people die?_"

.

The familiar voice said in his head. Was it his own, or some else's? Great, just as he was about to die he was hallucinating. He was crazy after all.

.

"_I don't care what you've gone through, and these people certainly don't, seeing as they're dead now." He said it with an unapologetic tone. "Remind me, who's fault was that? All those petty insignificant problems you keep blaming for all your faults? Which one was it, was it the middle-school rejection or the high-school bullies that made you ignore these people? No, it was all you. Make all the excuses you want. You might be scared to die, that's natural, but if you had died trying, you would have at least tried. Now you get to live with the knowledge that you, and you alone, let innocent people die. Nothing you can do about it now._

_It's disappointing, H. There's so much potential in you, so many people you could save. Tell me, has the selfishness you justify with this childish pain brought you anything other than death?_"

"_Don't downplay what I've been through, and don't hold me up to your standards. __I can't do this . . . I'm not a soldier, I can't handle this . . . I'm not some immortal alligator, I'm not some reality-bending god, I'm not_ you. _I'm just, just a kid! I can't-_"

"_You keep talking, but all I hear are excuses. Reality is a battlefield we all have to fight in. You got dealt a bad hand, but I've seen people with worse manage a lot better than_ this." _He emphasized the last word with a gesture at the landscape surrounding them._

.

He could see the monster in front of him shift its body, as it got ready to pounce.

.

"_We all go through our own hells. Do you know how I deal with mine? By the knowledge that with every form of pain I endure, someone else gets to live. Someone gets to keep their family, someone gets to keep their sanity, some of them even get to be happy. How is that any different from the 'social suicide' you were always going on about? You were able to put yourself through so much pain for people you thought didn't deserve it. So why couldn't you do it now?_

_I'm not saying that you should be okay with this kind of life. Our lives are akin to hell, and some of us have it worse than any reality-bending death god could ever do. But look out in front of you, at all those poor bastards, and tell me of which hell do you prefer. Doing nothing and living with this guilt, or putting yourself through that pain and danger, knowing no one else has to, that you're keeping them safe. That's the reason I do this, that's the reason I'm here._

_What's yours?"_

_._

_My reason?_ He thought to himself, watching the monster. _What is my reason for doing all this? Why have I been trying to help this stranger? Why did I risk myself to save her, bring her along? No one does anything without expecting something in return. No one's a genuinely good person. Even a motive like that has a hint of selfishness in it. So why?_

". . . I . . . won't lose to you . . ." He spoke out loud. The monster did not respond. ". . . I'm . . . stronger than this . . ."

But was he? Here he kneeled, bleeding and half-dead. What purpose did he have to fight this anymore?

"_Getaway!_" He heard a desperate scream come from the truck. Looking over, he saw that the other monster was tearing away at the metal door, a frantic Lucy desperately trying to get away but with nowhere to get to. She was going to die.

She was going to die and he wasn't doing anything.

She was going to die and he was giving up.

Was he just going to sit here and let her die like this?

". . . don't . . . don't you touch anyone . . . you hear me . . ." He growled. The monster ignored him, still tearing away. ". . . You're . . . not going to . . . hurt . . . anyone else . . . you bastards."

The monster pounced, rushing at him. Deep inside, he felt something loosen up, a surge of energy built up inside him.

.

_"You can let it all get to you," Abel had told him. "You can let the pain rule you. But are you willing to let it have them?"_

.

"_I SAID BACK OFF!_" He yelled, letting the energy loose from inside him. He swung his good arm and felt his fist connect with the face of the monster. A satisfying thud could be heard, and the monster was knocked back a few feet.

It started thrashing and flailing on the ground in immense pain, screaming its pathetic whimpers. Its companion stopped its assault on the door, turning to face its companion.

Hachiman stared at the monster as it thrashed around, attempting to save itself from what was currently consuming it at an excruciatingly slow pace.

". . . It's . . . on fire?" He thought out loud, watching the creature be slowly but surely consumed whole by the flames as it cried out in pain. He reasoned the flames were coming from somewhere, as there seemed to be a steady flow of it coming from . . .

His arm.

His arm was on fire.

The flames he was watching burn this monster alive were rapidly pulsing from his own hand, his entire left arm covered in it. He felt a slight sting up and down his arm, but other than that he would have no idea this was even happening.

Other than, of course, the sight and smell of his own burning flesh mingling with those of the monster currently dying in front of him. He willed something inside him to stop it, and sure enough, the flames subsided almost instantly. Looking at his hand, his skin had been charred a horrifying mix of red and black, as the fire had slightly barbecued him. He didn't have to worry about it for too long, though, as it seemed the wounds caused by the fire were healing at an unbelievable rate.

On the ground, the monster gave it's final few twitches before falling still, as the fire started to die out without a source to come from.

Hachiman looked up at the remaining monster, who stood still staring at him. It seemed not to know what to do without its companion, simply staring at the figure who had just slaughtered it. It seemed to take an assessment of the situation, before turning and running off.

Hachiman let out a deep breath of relief, feeling his adrenaline die down along with his pain tolerance.

_Gotta make sure she's okay_, he thought. He took a step forward . . .

And passed out.

* * *

**Okay, so yes, Abel (SCP-076) makes an appearance here. He is _extremely_ OOC because I think a take on a more heroic Able might be interesting. **

**SCP-745 official "monsters" in this chapter.**


	7. With Many Voices

.

.

.

The Karcist and the Mekhanite  
Were walking close at hand;  
They wept like anything to see  
The pure and virgin sand —  
'If this were only plagued with filth!'  
The Karcist did demand.

'If seven tons of putrid flesh  
Upon the beach were poured,  
Do you suppose,' the Karcist said —  
The other'd hear no more.  
'Machines,' exclaimed the Mekhanite,  
'Those would improve the shore!'

'O humans, come and be my slaves!'  
The Karcist did beseech.  
'A raging fight, a show of might,  
Along the bloodstained beach:  
We'll do away with Mekhanites  
And godhood, you will reach.' (1)

* * *

_. ._ .

_Goddamn, this hurts_.

The boy weakly opened his eyes, his vision blurry from sleep. Even though he had just woken up, he felt exhausted for some reason. Hachiman took a second to take in his surroundings. He was in the truck again, the morning sun shining through the windows (broken or fixed). He tried to sit up, but a sharp pain on the right side of his body sent him back to a laying position.

"Ah, fuck." He exclaimed as he grabbed his right side.

"Hachiman, you're awake!" Lucy silently exclaimed, turning to him from the front seat. There were bags under her eyes, and her hair was rumpled. "Thank God."

"What happened?" He asked, slowly lifting and turning his head to look at her. "That thing-"

"It ran off," she interrupted. "I stayed up all night, but it didn't come back." Hachiman let out a sigh of relief as he let his head fall back on the seat.

". . . I guess we know why you're dad wanted you to stay with me." _I guess we know why he kept me alive,_ is what he wanted to say, but he kept his mouth shut on that. Lucy nodded at that and looked away. "How're you feeling?"

"As well as can be expected."

"So awful."

"Yeah."

Hachiman tried sitting up again, fighting through the pain in his side as he pushing himself up. As he scrunched his face, he could feel dried blood flake and fall from his skin. The cuts were still there, no doubt, but they had scabbed over pretty fast. Not that he was complaining.

He looked past Lucy and to the tree he remembered passing out in front of last night. Yep, there was the charred corpse of that monster. Almost all its flesh was gone, leaving the hints of a skeleton covered in a burnt tarp of skin laid on the ground.

Hachiman felt sick.

He looked down at his left hand. It looked normal, even better than his right. He sighed as he slumped back against the seat.

This was too much.

He took a minute to process what had just happened. He reflected over it. These . . . things had chased him off the road, almost killed him and Lucy. For what? He doubted they had a reason, or that some nefarious force had sent them after the pair. What were they? Hachiman had very little idea about what the outside world was like, but he knew nothing like this should exist. Monsters that could mimic cars with heads as bright as headlights. That could run as fast as a car, strong enough to rip right through the metal, and push objects much heavier than themselves off of cliffs at neck-breaking speeds.

It made no sense.

Nothing made any sense.

He had escaped something he could only describe as a personal hell, but escaped to what, exactly? Was this reality? Was reality a place where monsters preyed on lonely cars and girls lived in constant fear because every male they would ever meet wanted to rape them? Where your mind could get snatched into a laptop? Where you could light yourself on fire and be okay the next morning? Where a man could wipe out countless lives with basically no consequences?

He was insane.

That was the only explanation.

Because if he wasn't . . . this was all really happening.

He didn't know which of those two possibilities was more terrifying.

". . . Hachiman?" Lucy's voice called him out of his stupor, though he was too exhausted to physically react.

"Yeah?"

". . . I'm scared . . ."

". . . Me too."

Silence fell between the two as the sat in contemplation. Hachiman stared up at the bent and broken ceiling of the truck, going over and over in his mind the events that had unfolded in the past half a day. He couldn't even say his entire world had been flipped upside down because he had woken up to . . .

_SHIT!_

"Where's the laptop?!" He almost yelled, startling Lucy.

"I-I think I put it in the glove box." Hachiman had to keep himself from moving too fast as he leaned over and opened it. The laptop had been placed under the box, along with two of Lucy's . . . food containers. _Looks like they didn't spill open._

He pulled it out and opened it up. The screen came to life, his past texts with the A.I. still in full view. The battery had gone down to 9% percent, but it wasn't dead and didn't look like it was damaged.

". . . Phew, it's fine." He said, closing it back up. He didn't feel like talking to "Totsuka," but at least it wasn't dead. "_J'avais peur que ça se casse dans le crash._" (_I was afraid it broke in the crash_.)

"You keep talking in French." She said. "I'm more disappointed that the box survived than anything else."

"_Ne sois pas impoli _(_Don't be rude_) . . . So, what do we do from here?"

". . . I don't know. We could walk, but . . ."

"Who knows how far away the nearest town is," He finished for her. "Or if it's a safe place for us. Or if we're even heading in the right direction. We could follow the road again, but that would still limit us to two possible directions.

"Plus, if those things are out there I don't want them finding us again. I don't think we'd come out okay a second time."

He thought for a moment.

"Eh, I don't think we have to worry about that." He said, stretching his body. "Those things are probably nocturnal. Their bodies were pitch black, perfect for hiding in the dark, and in the dark of night in a backwoods part like this their little 'headlight' trick would be perfect for catching unsuspecting drivers off guard. But then again, they don't seem to follow natural biology, so they could still be out there for all we know."

". . . Do you think the Foundation placed them there?"

"No. What reason could they have? If they were meant to be like guard dogs, who would want a security system that killed its own workers? On top of that, you said they specialized in containing stuff like that, right? My best guess is, they were housed here and somehow survived being wiped out, just like us."

"That does make sense . . . but then that would mean that a number of things housed here could have survived. If something as physically weak as me somehow escaped that, I doubt some of the more _powerful_ of the SCPs didn't."

"SCPs?"

"That's what they called anything the kept contained here." Oh, right. It was on the box they found and her report. He didn't know how he overlooked that. "All I know is I was SCP-166. They didn't share any other information than was absolutely necessary for me to know. If I didn't have to know, I didn't."

"That's shitty," he said, stretching. "So, there could be more things like that around here, or there couldn't."

"There's no way to know for sure."

"Hm. Welp, sitting here isn't gonna get us very far." He opened the door and stepped out, a slight limp on his right leg. How many injuries had he sustained within this short time period? He wasn't gonna live very long if this kept happening.

"Wait, we're really going to walk? I thought we just discussed why that is not a good idea."

"It's either walk or wait here for someone or some_thing_ to find us. I'd rather take my chances on the road."

She looked up at him. She still wasn't making eye contact, but she was staring at his chin rather than his chest, so it was progressing. After a moment she sighed.

"Okay," she said, grabbing their "luggage" before stepping out of the car. Her sheet was still intact, mostly. A couple of tears here and there but nothing too scandalous or anything.

Hachiman took the laptop and charger, along with the box they had found, while Lucy kept a hold of her bible and "food." The folder she had was held at the bottom, and Hachiman could see a sliver of the letter out of the top of it. Hachiman turned to look up at the steep hill they had crashed down the night prior.

"You think you can make it up there?" He asked.

"I'll be fine."

"Okay_, allez-vous._"

* * *

"Komachi, wake up!"

The girl groaned as she opened her eyes. She wasn't used to oversleeping, but she had been up uncharacteristically late last night. She had been doing that every now and then for the last seven or so months.

She didn't like to think about it, but every day it was constantly pounded into her head that something was off. She hadn't touched his room ever since, although she knew her mother had gone in there some nights when she thought Komachi was asleep. One night her sobbing had gotten so loud that she actually woke up Komachi, but the girl never brought it up.

This didn't happen often, of course. Maybe once a month, twice in July. Komachi remembered it was the night after taking the entrance exam for Sobu.

She hated it. She hated that life seemed to move on without him as if he didn't matter. It made her feel queasy, guilty. She had been looking forward to going to school with Onii-chan, even if he would gripe about it the entire time.

She lightly smacked both her cheeks, banishing negative thoughts from her mind. She always got like this in the mornings, but she would be okay for the rest of the day,

"I'm up!" She called down.

.

.

.

After she got ready, she headed downstairs.

"Good morning, mom!" She said cheerily. The older woman gave Komachi a weary smile. She had gotten better sure, but Komachi could see she was far from fine. She had been home a lot more lately, though Komachi didn't know whether it was out of guilt that he was gone or hope that she would be here when he got back.

If. If he got back.

"Good morning, Komachi. You're father left early, so you get some extra."

Figures. Her father seemed to take this all a little better than her or her mother. He did take a week off work when Onii-chan was officially declared missing, but being the bread-winner of the family he was back to work normally right after. Although she was a little miffed at him for it, she knew there was no helping it. She knew that her father missed him as much as either of them, even if he kept his feelings buried down. He couldn't risk the stability of his wife and daughter, no matter how much he wanted to look for Onii-chan.

Yeah, that was the reason.

Komachi sat down to eat.

"Itadakimasu!" She proclaimed before digging in. She was used to cooking for herself, but she had to admit it was nice having a freshly-cooked meal ready first thing in the morning. She could see how Onii-chan would grow lazy with her cooking for him all the time.

A comforting silence fell between the family members as they ate. It was nice to able to eat with her mother like this almost every morning. She felt they were actually growing closer than they had before with every meal, even if they just had a casual conversation each time. They talked about silly things mostly, since Komachi didn't exactly know how she was supposed to delve into a serious conversation with her mother. She supposed that's what happened when your parents were almost completely absent from your daily life. That wouldn't have happened if they didn't work so much.

Heh, she should be careful or else she might start turning out like her unreliable Onii-chan.

"How's school? Making any new friends?" The usual starting question.

"Totally! Though Taisha-san has been pretty bummed out that I'm not spending as much time with him as I used to." She sighed. "I swear, that boy needs to learn to hang around other people besides me." Her mother let out an amused sigh at that.

"What about your studies? Midterms are coming pretty soon."

"Ugh, I know," Komachi deflated, "I'm sure I'll do fine, but everyone's so stressed out about it."

"That just means they're taking it seriously."

"I know, I just wish they wouldn't treat it like the end of the world. Every time I bring up studying it kills the mood." That must have said something about the crowd she hung around. She could just imagine what her Onii-chan would say. "I want to ask Yukino-senpai and Yui-senpai for help, but they have their own exams to worry about."

"Well, I'm sure you can help each other out, even if you are in different years."

"Maybe, but I feel like I would just be holding them back." _Well, maybe not Yui-senpai._

"Well, it looks like you'll just have to figure something out, then," her mother said, taking a drink.

_Eh, that's not helpful at all! You can at least give me studying advice or something!_

"I guess," she said instead, continuing to eat her breakfast.

Silence fell between the two once again, an aura of comfort in the company. Even if conversations were strained between them nowadays, it was a definite improvement from what it used to be. Even if the reason behind this change wasn't one she was okay with. Her mom felt responsible for his disappearance. Even if she didn't have anything to do with it, she felt if she had just _been there_ more, he would still be here. Komachi wondered what was going through her head every day, but she wasn't ready for a super emotional talk yet.

"Komachi," her mother said, interrupting her thoughts. "How have you been holding up?"

"I'm fine, mom," the same thing she always responded with.

"I know, but-"

"Oh, I have to go! Don't wanna be late," She rushed up, grabbing her bag and heading to the door. "I'm off!"

"Have a good day! Stay safe!" She heard her mother say before she closed the door.

She was a coward.

She was running away from an unavoidable conversation, she knew. She did that every time her mother tried to get closer to her, and she knew how much it hurt her mother to run away from it. But she wasn't ready for it. She wasn't ready to accept the fact that he might be . . .

_I wonder if Taisha's free to study_ _tomorrow? _She thought, blocking out everything she had been thinking about prior. In the back of her mind, though, she knew that one day she wouldn't be able to run from it.

* * *

How long had they been walking for?

Honestly, just about ten minutes. It took just ten minutes for the signs of a town to pique over the horizon, about a mile past the end of the thick forest. It was a surprise to him, to say the least, but it was not unwelcome. He thought they would tear their feet bloody from the concrete before coming across any form of civilization.

"Oh, there's a town over there!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Good eye," He said. "So, what's the game plan?"

"Huh? Uh, well . . ."

"Their bound to have questions, you know. What's our story?"

"Why are you asking me? I'm no good in social situations."

"Well, I highly doubt I am," he said, remembering his train of thoughts while in . . . he would just call it "laptop world." He was going to say "in Totsuka," but that felt weird for him to say.

"So, what do we do. They're going to have questions about why we look . . . well, like this." The sheet-cladded girl said. Hachiman thought for a moment.

"Well, we might have to commit some light larceny-"

"Don't even joke about that," Lucy deadpanned, glaring Hachiman's neck down. He rolled his eyes.

"Well, how about a homeless shelter? I'm sure they will have some clothes or something we can have."

"You're not seriously saying we should steal from homeless people." She said, getting angrier.

"No, we're not stealing. Don't those places exist to give help and resources to the needy? Well, right now, we need it just as much as anyone else. We have no homes, no family, no outside help." Lucy became more and more depressed with each point he made. "You are literally wearing a sheet. We don't have shoes. The only things we have to our names are your bible, a couple of possessed objects, a trap A.I.-"

"Trap?"

"-And pieces of paper. We need clothes, food, shoes, a place to sleep, shoes, and in case I forgot to say it, SHOES."

"You said 'shoes' like three times."

"While I'm all for toughing it out if need be, if someone is offering help to those who need it, I don't think it would be smart of us to _not_ take advantage of that."

". . . I admit you have a point, but I still don't like it."

"You can lecture me after we have shoes."

"Again with the shoes."

.

.

.

"This town is a bit bigger than I thought," Lucy said, close to Hachiman. He assumed since it was working hours that the streets would be fairly empty. What he didn't account for was that they would enter into something akin to a red-light district. There were different buildings around with very suggestive labels. Given that it was working hours, it made sense that the 'workers' would be out and about. Skimpily dressed women and some suggestively dressed men could be seen around the streets, talking casually and smoking.

"Yeah, let's just find somewhere to get some clothes," he said, keeping them moving forward.

Around them, they received weird glances and concerned looks. He supposed it only made sense, as Lucy was still wearing the sheet made to fit into a dress and he was wearing something akin to a Halloween costume.

_Still don't know how she cut out the neck and armholes._

He directed them towards the edge of this district, pretty certain that there wouldn't be any kind of help they were looking for around these parts. They were a couple of catcalls, the majority directed at _him_ somehow, but they were immediately silenced once they got a good look at their condition. Of course, even with the concerned looks they were getting, no one came up to them to see if they needed help. He guessed that was just the nature of people. That was fine, this wasn't their problem to deal with, so they weren't obligated to give them help.

It did tick him off just a bit though.

After about thirty more minutes of walking aimlessly around, they had finally found something that slightly resembled what they were looking for. A medium-sized piece of paper stapled to a light pole, with jackets and snowflakes colored on it.

"' Winter clothes drive?' Is winter that close?" Hachiman wondered aloud.

"It's September. I couldn't tell because it's kind of warm for this time of year, but I guess wintertime's almost here," Lucy said, reading the sign.

"No wonder they have it here. Standing outside all night in the dead of winter isn't good for someone's health," Hachiman said. _They can't stop people from doing this kind of thing, so they may as well make sure they're safe while doing it._ "I bet they'd be willing to give some stuff to us."

". . . I still don't like this."

"So you've said," he turned to her. "Look, if it bothers you that much, we can donate them back once we get at a place where we can afford to buy clothes."

"But what if someone else really needs them, but doesn't have them because we do?"

"Maybe they'll be fine, maybe they won't. But before we can help anyone, we have to make sure we can give help. Sacrificing your own health because someone else _might_ need this stuff too is pointless."

". . . I get it. But as soon as we can, we're buying clothes to donate."

"Fine, fine, let's just go already," he said, waving her off. She followed close behind them as they made their way off.

"Hey there, cutie~!" An effeminate British accent called out to him from somewhere to his left. He shrugged the voice off as he kept walking. "Heeey~, it's rude to ignore people."

"_Hachiman, I think she's talking to you,_" Lucy said quietly to his right.

"_Which is why I'm currently ignoring her,_" Hachiman responded. "_Just keep walking, I don't need someone trying to hustle me right now._" This girl probably assumed they were a couple looking for some fun in this part of town. Or not, Hachiman had no idea what was going through this girl's mind.

"Wow, so you're really just gonna keep walking? A cute guy like you could use my company~. I could give you some fashion advice."

He turned to look at the newcomer. It was a girl, probably around his age, with bright rainbow-colored hair and clad in a tight leather jacket and ripped jeans. She had soft features and bright blue eyes. Kind of on the skinny side, but not too much so. She wasn't unattractive, but the way she was currently presenting herself sure was.

"After all, you - HOLY FUCK!"

"Oi, keep it down, would you." Hachiman covered his ear at the sudden volume.

"Bloody hell happened to you?!" The girl asked, although there was a tone of amusement in her voice that ticked Hachiman off. It was at this moment this girl had suddenly become aware of Lucy's existence. "Why are you wearing a sheet?"

"None of your business," the teen responded, turning away and continuing his path.

"Hey now, I can't let you go after a statement like that," she said, stepping in front of him. Hachiman glared at the girl. "Scary! You're a gang member or something, ain't ya? I didn't think yakuza operated around here."

". . . I'm gonna do us both a favor and pretend you didn't say that." Hachiman continued past the girl.

"Okay, okay, seriously, do you need help?" She cut in front of the two again. _This lady can't take a hint, can she?_

"You're being a bit pushy. It's annoying. We're fine." Hachiman stared blankly at her.

"Eh! The hell are you so rude for?" The girl pouted. Hachiman figured she either wasn't used to being turned away, or she was attempting a manipulation technique. Either way, she was annoying.

"Because you're being annoying."

"Hey!" The girl crossed her arms. "I'm offering you some help, ya twat! You're lucky you're cute or I would have walked away by now."

". . ." Did this guy really just say something like that with no shame. ". . . _Aaaaand_ we're leaving. Goodbye." He walked past her.

"Fine, be that way." The girl said, walking in the opposite direction. "Your loss."

Hachiman paid no attention to her, continuing his path. The sounds of Lucy's footsteps filled the air over the almost empty streets. Well, that was one character he had run into that he never wanted to interact with again. Was everyone that annoying, or was he just in a bad mood? Eh, he was probably in a bad mood, but it's not like it was his fault. Plus, that girl really _was_ being annoying. Oh well, if he ever saw her again he would probably apologize. Probably. Damn did his head hurt.

". . . That wasn't very nice, Hachiman," Lucy spoke up softly. Hachiman sighed.

"I know, all right, I'm just stressed right now."

"That's no excuse," Lucy said, giving him a stern look. He looked away.

"I'll apologize if I ever see her again, okay . . . I'm just . . . trying to deal, I guess," He finished timidly.

"I know . . . Just please be a bit more considerate of how others feel. You don't know what they might be coping with, too."

"Right."

". . . You could have asked him for directions."

". . . *_Sigh_* WAIT!" He called to the girl behind him, Lucy's smirk as he did so not going unnoticed.

.

.

.

"Here you are," The girl said, waving her hands at the church building in front of them. It wasn't that big and looked slightly shabby if he was being honest. Otherwise, it was what you expected a baptist church to look like, he supposed, complete with the sign warning about the end of times. The doors were closed right now. That was given since the clothes giveaway was set to start early the next morning. Hopefully, they could find something that would fit.

The girl turned to Hachiman with a sly grin. "You're welcome."

"Thanks, I guess," Hachiman said timidly, looking away from the girl.

"No need to thank me," she waved it off. _You said "you're welcome," first, though, asshole._

"Well, I guess we'll be seeing you around then," Hachiman said, turning from her.

"Hopefully. You got scary eyes, but you're still quite cute, you know."

"Wh-whatever," He said, most definitely not blushing. The girl smirked at him.

"You're blushing."

"You're seeing things."

"Yeah, like you blushing."

Lucy looked between the two other teens, confused to the turn the conversation had taken.

"You're an ass," He said. She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"You were an ass earlier," she pointed out.

"It's probably just the concussion. Probably." He looked up at the building. It was all but abandoned right now, which made sense because it was the middle of the week. The crowded buildings seemed to only emphasize the emptiness of the streets. He studied the exterior of the building. He noticed the stained glass windows had the slight hints of metal bars behind them, barely noticeable from the outside, and the four large oak doors that each had handles, and every handle had scratches on it. Nothing seemed to scream danger to him. Then he noticed a chain in the bushes next to the stairs that led to the front doors.

"Should we go in?" Lucy asked.

"It's closed today, sweetie," the girl said, somehow not coming off as condescending. "Pastor's out somewhere today. He's only here on weekends and Wednesdays."

"No. Something's wrong." He said, going over the appearance of the building again.

"What makes you say that?"

"Let me guess, the pastor chains up the door at night?"

". . . Yeah?" The annoying girl said. He looked back at her, noticing she hadn't moved from her spot while they had come forward. _Interesting_. "How'd you figure that?"

"For one, the chain in the bushes," he said gesturing towards what he was talking about. He picked them out. Sure enough, the lock was still intact, but the chain was cut through in multiple places. The cut looked clean as if something sliced through it almost instantly, rather than the signs of brute force a chain-cutter might leave. "Two, this is most likely a high-crime area. Everyone is scared of getting robbed, especially when you're low on money. We can rule out its someone who works here because they would have brought the chains inside, not hide them."

"You sure you're not just paranoid?" Rainbow-head crossed her arms. ". . . Wait, how do you figure he's low on money?

"He?"

"Pastor Frankum. He's the one who runs this place, yeah?"

"Well, the state of the building is a really big giveaway, but mostly the fact that they still chain the doors instead of buying locks. This place operates in a most likely low-income district, and I'm guessing that attendance is less than ideal." He stepped closer to the doors. "There are scratches on the handles as well."

"Yeah, that happens. People aren't exactly careful with stuff that isn't theirs."

"Not to this degree. There are no locks on the handles themselves, but these look as if someone had been scratching at it with some kind of metal object," He rubbed a finger over the cuts on one of the handles.

"Maybe, oh, I don't know, the metal chains?"

"The round and dull chains. The occasional bumping and grinding wouldn't cause scratches this deep and defined."

"You daft, ain't ya?" She deadpanned.

". . . Is the pastor here a drunk?" She glared at him. _Interesting._

"I don't know, I don't exactly frequent this sort of establishment myself."

"Even if there's a reasonable explanation for these scratches, the chain itself being in the bushes is reason enough to worry." He stepped back and pulled the door open.

"Oh, if you're so worried, why're you going in? Shouldn't this be something to call the police for? Unless you're planning to go in and steal something yourself."

"Do I look like the type of person to do that?" The girl opened her mouth. "Don't answer that. If anything I'm just curious, I have no intention to steal anything, especially since Lucy would just yap my ears off if I did." He held the laptop and charger towards Lucy. "Hold these." He then pointed at the rainbow-headed girl. "You, come with me."

"Wait, why?"

"I'd thought you want to since you have a personal stake in this."

"The hell are you on about?"

"Pastor Frankum. You claim not to frequent this place, yet you know his name, as well as the fact that he chains these doors closed at night," She opened her mouth to protest, but he cut it off. "Not to mention that you haven't moved any closer to this building since we got here. You could play it off with the excuse that someone dangerous might be inside, or that you used to be religious then rebelled or whatever, but your reaction when I suggested that the pastor might be a drunk suggests you have a fond recollection of him." She flinched. "Taking all this into consideration, I believe you're avoiding him."

". . . You're an ass," She looked away from him. He smirked.

"But am I wrong, though?"

"What business is it of yours, eh?"

"None. I could care less about how you know the pastor, but given what could be inside, I thought you might be curious, too. Plus, as I said, I can't trust you, so I'd rather not leave you alone with Lucy, and I can't bring her in there, so," he gestured into the building.

"I'm coming too," Lucy said. He looked over at her.

"Why?"

"Because I know about . . . some things than you do. If it's something dangerous, you're going in blind."

"I thought you said they didn't let you know anything?"

"They couldn't keep everything from me, not in a place like that."

"Even so, I'm not risking your safety. Whatever it is, I can handle it, but I'm not betting your life on the possibility I can't."

"Oi, but you're fine betting mine?!" Rainbow-head said.

"You'll be behind me. If something goes down, you can get out and get her out of here."

"So?! I ain't bulletproof!"

"I'm going," Lucy said again, stepping closer to him.

"I-"

"We can stand outside arguing about this all day, or we can go in. Your choice."

". . ."

". . ."

". . ."

". . ."

". . . Fine, you can come," He gave up. "Just stay behind me. You too, rainbow-head." He turned to the girl.

"Like hell, I will!" She yelled, storming towards the door. She shoulder-checked him as she entered the church before them. Hachiman didn't acknowledge this, simply choosing to walk into the building with Lucy close behind.

* * *

Lucy sat on a pew inside the church, her belongings sat next to her, a little surprised at how well kept the inside looked compared to the exterior of the building. The pews were traditional, save for the cushions on the seats and backrests. The pulpit wasn't exactly grandiose, but it held an air of importance one would expect it should, with the wood carved into simplistic yet attractive designs. Paintings on the walls and ceilings were dull in color, and if you looked closely you could see where someone had painted over certain parts, probably because of chipping. How long had has it been since she was inside an actual church? Almost four years now. She had been taken into Foundation custody when she was 14, and she would be 18 in May.

She watched the Japanese teen lost in thought as he studied the surroundings himself, while desperately trying to ignore the tense air coming from the girl next to her. She felt obligated to say something but had no idea what she would say. She seemed to have put up some kind of wall to them around the time Hachiman had called her a boy, although she had no idea why. Being forced to follow them in here sure didn't help. Still, if she wanted to clear up the awkward air she should say something. How could she ever hope to have a normal life if she couldn't talk to normal people?

"Can I ask you something?" Lucy asked the rainbow-headed girl as they stood inside the church. Hachiman was studying the interior of the building around them, the ceiling and pillars. There wasn't any sign of a person around.

"No," she dead-panned, staring ahead. Lucy pouted at that.

"What's your name?"

". . . Jasmine," She said, turning away so that Lucy was staring at the back of her head.

"Nice to meet you, Jasmine."

"Enchanted," Jasmine said sarcastically. Lucy knew it wasn't her that she was mad at, but she didn't expect Hachiman to do anything. She didn't know him that well, but he just . . . didn't seem like the type, she guessed. He seemed more comfortable with dealing with physical problems that mental or emotional ones.

"I'm sorry about him. He doesn't really know how to deal with people."

"I can tell," she scoffed, turning to her. "You know, you don't seem half bad. How'd you end up . . ." She gestured at Lucy, insinuating that she meant "like this." Lucy let out a sigh.

"I'm trying to figure that out myself. We just escaped out of a pretty bad situation, not even yesterday. Should've died twice over. He's the only reason I'm alive right now."

"That right? That why you're taggin' along with him, then?"

"No, it's . . . a lot more complicated. Honestly, we don't know each other that well, but we were both forced into this. We're just trying to survive, and we can't do that without each other."

". . . You're really open to someone you just met, you know."

"I am? Sorry, I'm not used to . . . talking to people, I guess."

"I get it. What happened to you guys anyway?"

". . . Car wreck?"

". . . You said that like a question." Lucy chuckled nervously. "Now that I think about it, you lot were talking bout something strange earlier. About some '_bad people_,'" Jasmine used air quotes as she stressed those last two words. "What really happened?"

"Oi, is there anyone who works here gives you the creeps?" Hachiman said suddenly, catching both their attention.

"What? Nah, it's just the Pastor and some volunteers, but they seem friendly enough, yeah? Why?"

"Whoever or whatever forced their way in here definitely did so for a purpose. There's nothing trashed or anything, even the clothes are untouched, so this wasn't a robbery. They needed something and knew exactly where it was, which limits it to someone who frequented this area."

"Unless it doesn't," Lucy pointed out. Hachiman looked over at her, a questioning gaze. He wasn't as used to it as she was (honestly she had no idea what his mind was accustomed to), but she knew that the . . ._ things_ that could exist in this world cared little for logic and reason. Sometimes things could just _be_, no purpose or explanation as to how. Sometimes something just was, and you had to live with the fact that it was this way, without ever being given a reason.

"What are you on about?" Jasmine asked her.

"Nothing," Hachiman drew her attention back to him. "Where's the pastor's office?"

"It's not that big a place, you can find it," Jasmine said, crossing her arms and looking away. Hachiman sighed.

"You know, you guys can help me look, right?"

"I think I'd rather let you waste your time," Jasmine said, turning back to him. "What are you even looking for anyways?"

"Whatever was stolen, or something interesting enough to be stolen," he said, walking around the back of the pulpit. "Ah, found a door."

"Congratulations, you found a door in a building." Jasmine rolled her eyes.

". . . Lucy, come and talk a look at this."

The blonde girl hesitated for a second, confused, before standing up to walk over to here she had seen Hachiman disappear. Coming around the back of the pulpit, she saw the door Hachiman must have been talking about. It was slightly propped open, and she could see it was behind the thick curtain of the back wall that she guessed usually hid it. She stepped through it into a dimly lit room, where Hachiman was pushing around large garbage bags full of clothing with an irritated look on his face.

"Found the clothes," he said, opening one of the bags and starting to go through it.

"Hachiman-"

"Here," he interrupted her by throwing a shirt at her face. "This looks like your size."

". . . Is this even clean?"

"Pretty sure. Although I think the fact that they're actual clothes should be the deciding factor here." He picked up a thick jacket from inside the bag and studied it. "Well, start looking for stuff, we don't have all day."

"Shouldn't we wait until the actual event starts to get clothes?" She said.

"Well-" What he started to say was interrupted by the sound of something falling outside. He looked towards the door towards the little sliver of outside he could see. "What was that?"

Lucy looked back behind her and opened the door slightly.

"Jasmine? You okay out there?"

"T-Totally, don't worry about me! Just a little careless!"

"_Something's wrong,_" Hachiman whispered. Lucy looked back towards his direction.

"What-"

"_SHH!_" He insisted, reaching out and pulling her away from the door. "_Something's wrong. Stay here, don't leave this room until I give you the okay._"

"_Wait, what?_" Lucy whispered along with him. "_What are you talking about?_"

Hachiman didn't answer, simply standing up and creeping towards the door. Not even the wood underneath his feet creaked.

"I think this might be your size," he said in a higher volume, looking back at the blonde and gesturing at her. She looked at him for a second in confusion before figuring out that he wanted her to play along.

"O-Oh, I don't think it is, it's blue." She said, matching Hachiman's volume. Hachiman stared at her incredulously.

"_What the hell are you on about?!_" He whisper-yelled.

"_I don't know, I was just winging it!_" She countered, and Hachiman face-palmed.

"_Act a little more natural!_" He turned back to the door, attempting to look outside it without disturbing the door itself and yelled: "Hey, can you come help Lucy? I don't really feel comfortable with it."

"Can she not dress herself?" Jasmine retorted without hesitation. Hachiman looked over to Lucy, with a look that said: "_Told you so._" Lucy just looked at him confused. How did that statement prove his point?

"_Wait here for a second,_" he whispered, stepping outside and closing the door behind him. Lucy blinked, looking at the door as it shut. What was he talking about? How in the world did he know something was going on? The blonde stood up and walked over to the door. There was a moment of silence before she heard Hachiman's voice speak up, but she couldn't make out what it was because the thick door and curtain cut out almost all the sound.

.

.

.

"Look, I can explain-" Jasmine had started.

"Where have you been?! It's been almost a year since I've seen you, and you come back here, looking like . . ._ that_." The way the new voice said it caused Jasmine to flinch.

"I-I . . ."

"Pastor Frankum?" Hachiman said as he stepped into view, looking at the scene in front of him.

In front of him stood a towering figure of a man, the wrinkles and grey hair on his face betraying the absolute mass of muscles that were hidden underneath his well-pressed suit jacket. The man looked him up and down, a mixed look of anger and confusion as he looked at the cut-up teen.

"What are you doing here?" The pastor said. Hachiman noted that he had a more American accent in his voice.

"I had thought someone broken in, and I got curious. Started looking around for clues," he admitted.

"And that would have nothing to do with the fact that you just came out of my storage room?"

"D-Dad, it's not like that . . ." _So, her father, huh?_

"There were possible clues in there. Plus, we needed clothes," Hachiman shrugged. Jasmine looked at him like he had just shot someone.

"So you were stealing?" Pastor Frankum crossed his meaty arms.

"Besides the point," Hachiman deflected. "We came upon a possible crime scene where dangerous people could have still been lingering. Of _course _I was going to check it out."

"The only dangerous person I see here is you." Frankum glared at him. "I've half a mind to call the Barney right now."

". . . the dinosaur?" Hachiman asked, confused. Frankum's glare deepened as he took a step in Hachiman's direction. Jasmine looked like she was about to die on the spot.

"I don't think you're in the position to make jokes right now."

"I'm not, though."

"Could have fooled me. You probably are too drugged up to even understand me, with those meth-eyes you have."

"They're not, though."

"I'm calling the police."

"You shouldn't, though."

". . . Don't move." Frankum said. Hachiman sighed.

"Man, I just wanted shoes."

"_Don't move_." A voice called out. Hachiman blinked and looked around. "_Don't move_."

"What the hell did you say, smart-ass?"

"You heard that? Well, at least it's not in my head," he said, looking around. The sounds of scuttling filled the building.

"_Don't move._" "_Run._" "_Don't fall for it._" "_Run._" "_Help me!_" "_Stop! Please!_" "_Don't fall for it._" "_Run!_" "_It's a trick!_" "_Jesus Christ! Engage, engage!_"

A cacophony of voices filled the church, coming from seemingly every direction. Above them, the ceiling creaked as figures he could barely make out flew through and around the wooden supports.

"You wouldn't happen to have a rat problem, would you?" Hachiman asked loudly, not receiving an answer.

"_They're killing him!_" "_Don't be afraid._" "_Don't fall for it._" "_Kill that fucking thing!_" "_It's your turn hothead._" "_Run!_" "_Help me!_" "_Run!_" "_It's a trick!_"

Something fell from the ceiling right above Hachiman. He instinctively jumped back, letting the thing land on the ground between him and the other two.

It was a horrifying looking thing. Its body looked as if something had skinned it, the translucent red of flesh dominated most of its features, a row of long dorsal spines ran atop its back, vibrating as if it was . . . purring in anticipation. It shifted as it "looked" at him, and he used that term loosely seeing as the thing didn't have any eyes on its elongated head. Its fangs were fairly luminescent, despite how well lit the inside of this church was.

"_. . . Daddy? . . . Daddy, I'm scared . . . Daddy, where are you?_" The voice of what appeared to be a little girl flowed out of its mouth. It took a silent step forward in Hachiman's direction. "_Please help me . . . someone, please help me . . . it hurts . . ._"

Hachiman stepped slowly to the side, out of its path, staring the thing down. His heart was pounding in his ears, but he was doing his best to keep his composure. The four sharp claws on each of its feet scraped the ground as it walked. It came to a small step in front of the pulpit. It froze its movement for a second, before slowly rising to stand on its hind legs. Hachiman tried to stand as still as possible while this thing, mere inches from him, rose to stand at a full two feet taller than him.

"_. . . Daddy? . . . Daddy, I'm scared . . . Daddy, where are you? __. . . Daddy? . . . Daddy, I'm scared . . . Daddy, where are you?_" It repeated.

_. . . It's luring people_ _in_, the teen realized. _It's using voices to try and draw someone towards it._

"Hachiman?" Lucy's voice called out from nowhere. His head whipped around to see the girl come out of the room she had just been hiding in. "What's going . . ."

The thing fell down to all fours and shot itself towards her. She let out a scream as it flew at her.

"SHIT!" Hachiman yelled as he sprinted at the thing. It swung at the pulpit, Lucy diving to the ground as it tore the top half of the stand clean off. Hachiman came around its right side and round-house kicked it, sending the thing tumbling to the side of the building with a screech of anger.

At that, three more of those things jumped down from the ceiling, landing on all fours with a screech. Two covered his sides and one stood between him and Jasmine (and the pastor). The one he had kicked away was already recovering, shaking off the effects of his kick. He hadn't expected to do that much with just a kick, considering how large it was, and that he was still injured from his run-in with those headlight things last night.

"_Kill._"

"_Engage, engage!_"

"_Run._"

All different voices coming from each of them as they stalked closer to him. Their bodies shifted and jumped with each step, the voices and growls they made growing louder. As they stepped closer, only one thought ran through his mind.

_Well, shit._

As if on cue, they all pounced on him. Acting on instinct, he sprinted two steps forward and jumped. He flew over the head of one as two others collided with each other behind. He landed on the ground behind it, turning quickly and kicking it in the back (just barely missing the spikes on its back). It screeched as it was sent flying into the other two who were starting to gather themselves together.

"Lucy, get out of here!" He yelled at the blonde girl. She rushed around the pulpit and towards the other two people in the building. The first thing screeched, shooting towards her. Hachiman jumped at it, landing a punch on its jaw. It swiped at him as it flew away and into the pews, crushing the wood under its weight as it crashed through them. Hachiman landed on his feet and spun around as the three other things shot at him. He jumped backward as the first one landed in the spot he was just in. Soon they were scrambling over each other one by one to get him, his back-stepping just barely keeping him out of their reach.

He ducked under one as it swiped at him, and sucker-punched it in the jaw. He back-flipped out of the way as another's jaws closed right in the area he was in.

He jumped up, landing silently on one of the support beams in the ceiling, and crouched. Looking down at the things, they were scurrying all around, bodies swinging wildly in every direction as they tried to locate him. He stood still, silently watching them.

_Shit, how am I supposed to get past these things? I head for the door, they'll just follow me, and I doubt there's anything in _here_ to hold the fuckin' things . . ._

He might have to kill them.

It wasn't something he wanted to do, but he didn't see any other options. It's not like he could keep dodging forever until they just happened to get bored of him. Besides, who's to say they wouldn't go and kill someone else if he just escaped and left them to their own devices.

But could he even kill these things? He was . . . a lot stronger than he anticipated right now, but what if they had some crazy healing properties?

_I could try doing _that_ thing again. But what triggered it last time?_

"_. . . Daddy? . . . Daddy, where are you?_" A voice called out from below him. They must have gotten tired of trying to find him and resorted to luring him out.

_They're probably blind, given their lack of eyes. Not that it does me any good, as soon as I move they'll probably hear me._

Burn.

Hachiman shifted on his feet, grabbing the beam he was hiding on to support him.

_Creeeaaak! _The wood seemingly yelled out as soon as his foot shifted.

. . . _fuckin' . . ._

"_Engage! Engage!_" He jumped back from the ceiling as the things started climbing the wall to get to him. He felt his heartbeat quicken the closer they got to him.

Burn.

He rushed to the door. If he could get outside, maybe-

"_Engage!_" The voice yelled as he was tossed to the side. He landed against a wall with a hard thud, the wind knocked out of him as he hear something snap. His thoughts were jumbled, he couldn't focus, and they were getting closer. He needed to move, he needed to-

Burn.

"_Kill._" He felt a sharp pain on his leg.

He blacked out.

* * *

Lucy was being pulled along by Jasmine as they ran down the street. They turned a corner down an alleyway, the pastor a pace ahead of them but still close enough to ensure their safety. She could run a little better now that she had proper clothes on (the temptation of actually having clothes proved too great for her, she would pray for forgiveness later), but her feet were still sore and cut from the amount of time she had been walking barefoot. Not to mention she felt her terror grow more and more the farther away from Hachiman she got.

"What the hell were those things?!" Jasmine yelled, not getting an answer. Both she and the pastor were visibly terrified.

With force, Lucy yanked herself free from Jasmine's grasp, forcing herself to a shaky stop. Jasmine stopped about a second ahead of her, and the pastor a second further than that. Both turned back to stare at her, the pastor with confusion, the teenager with almost irritated disbelief. Lucy allowed herself to take in big gulps of air, catching her breath before speaking.

"I need to go back!" She proclaimed. The other two seemed to take a second to process that before Jasmine spoke up.

"Are you bloody daft?! Did you not see those fucking things back?!"

"I can't be away from Hachiman!" Lucy turned to run back, only for Jasmine to grab her and hold her in place.

"Look, I'm sorry about your mate, but if you can _not_ go back there!"

"Harry, do you know what's going on?!" The pastor yelled.

"D-Dad, I-"

"_It's a trap!_"

Lucy froze. The pastor and Jasmine stopped talking.

"_It's a trap!_"

_Stomp._

Lucy turned her head to look behind her. One of those things stood above the pastor, a foot taller and twice as wide. It looked uncomfortable standing like that, but also . . . smug, somehow. It opened its horrid mouth, its tongue swishing back and forth against the air.

"_Please, somebody!_" The voice came from its throat but seemed not to belong to it. Almost as if something else was speaking from inside it. "_Help me! Please!_"

It twisted its head to the side, so that its jaws were perpendicular to the ground, and bent over the pastor.

"_Please, some-_"

A flash of bright orange.

* * *

(1) Excerpt from "The Karcist and The Mehkanite" from the SCP wiki page.


	8. Another One?

Je suis complètement normal, complètement banal.

_I am completely normal, completely banal._

* * *

**Burn. Burn it all. Burn. Feed.**

_What is this?_

**Burn. Burn. Burn it all. Burn.**

_This feels . . . strange._

**Burn them. Feed.** **Burn.**

_What's going on? What is this? What's happening?_

**Burn.**

_I can't see. Why can't I see anything?_

**Burn. Don't need to see it. Only Burn. Feed.**

* * *

Pastor Frankum fell to the ground, scrambling backward away from the monster. Something had hit it square in the chest, sending it flying away with a screech.

Lucy swung her head to the source of the orange light. The rainbow-headed girl stood holding the blonde one, staring at . . . something. The thing that was about to kill her father was burning to death a few feet back. The sounds of screeching and smell of burning flesh filled the alley-way as the three people gazed at something . . . horrifying.

It looked like a person, but it was made completely out of flames. Like the flames were mimicking the shape of somebody. The smells of burning flesh wafted of it, and the crackling sounds of something burning were terrifyingly audible.

Pastor Frankum stood up and stepped in front of the other two girls, putting himself between them and the being of fire ahead of them. It tilted its head at them as if it was curious. Lucy gripped Jasmine's arm hard, staring at the thing as fear clouded her thoughts. Jasmine was shaking but trying to stand a strong ground. None of them dare moved as they stood against this . . . how could they even explain it?

It took a step towards them. Just as it did that, Jasmine and Lucy flinched back away from it. It stopped its movement and took a step back away from them. It stared at them for a second.

* * *

**BURN! BURN! BURN! BURN!**

_. . . loud. You're too loud. My head hurts._

**BURN! BURN! BURN! BURN!**

_What? what do you want to burn?_

**BURN! BURN! BURN! BURN!**

_You're not making sense. My skin . . . it hurts. Why does it_ _hurt?_

**BURN! BURN! BURN! BURN!**

_Stop it._

**BURN! BURN! BURN! BURN!**

_Stop it._

**BURN! BURN! BURN! BURN!**

_Stop it!_

**BURN! BURN! BURN! BURN!**

_STOP IT! STOP YELLING! STOP!_

**BURN! BURN! BURN! BURN!**

_. . . It feels cold . . . how does it feel cold?_

**BURN! BURN! BURN! BURN!**

_Is this me? Is this what I feel like?_

**BURN! BURN! BURN! BURN!**

_I feel . . ._

* * *

"**. . . j'me sens vide.**" (_I feel empty._) The warped voice spoke out, although no one could see its mouth move.

Lucy blinked in surprise as it spoke, her fear slowly dissipating as she heard it speak. Of course, she couldn't understand it, but she started to put pieces together in her head. Fire, french, and the fact that it appeared just now.

". . . Hachiman?"

It tilted it- . . . his head, looking down at her. Suddenly, there was a flash of bright light.

**BOOM!**

The three people flinched at the loud noise, Jasmine yelping in surprise. The pastor swiveled his head around, trying to identify the threat. Lucy looked up to the sky, that had suddenly gone dark with clouds.

"It's just lightning!" She yelled out, looking back down at the two others around her. "It's just lightning."

On cue, the rain started to pour down on them, covering them completely. Lucy flinched at the sudden rainfall but kept her eyes on Hachiman. As the rain washed over him, the fire hissed, slowly retreating in on itself. Slowly, his features started to come back into view, starting with his eyes. The fire was gone in a matter of seconds, leaving the Japanese teen standing there, burn marks all over his skin. She could see the places where they were already healing, disappearing at a rapid pace.

"Hachiman, you okay?!" Lucy yelled out to him. Jasmine looked completely confused, staring back and forth between Hachiman and Lucy. Hachiman just stared at them, a just as confused look on his face.

". . . Uh, I'm fine," He said, turning around and studying his surroundings. ". . . How'd I get outside?"

"Thank goodness." Lucy sighed in relief, letting go of Jasmine. "Was that all of them?"

"Uh . . . maybe?" He said, not too sure about himself. He turned back to her. "Do you have our stuff?" Lucy's eyes widened in fear.

"You left our stuff!"

". . . I was sort of preoccupied."

"Right, right, sorry . . . All right, we should go back for it."

"Duh," Hachiman said, walking over to them. "You'll have to lead the way because I'm pretty sure I was blacked out for most of that." Lucy nodded once, and turned and walked back in the direction they came, Hachiman following close behind.

Behind them, Jasmine stared at the duo for a second, before following as well for a lack of better options. Pastor Frankum looked between all the teens with confusion and slight irritation, before following as well.

* * *

Hachiman, Lucy, Jasmine, and the Pastor stood in front of the church, becoming soaked from the rainfall. They were placed a couple of feet away, seeing as the building was currently burning down.

". . . Okay, that's probably my fault. Sorry." Hachiman said. The Pastor did not respond, he just continued looking at his burning church. Hachiman shifted nervously on his feet. "I guess I should go, uh, get the stuff, then."

He walked up to the church and through the currently burning doors, not minding the heat that was coming off from the flames. Lucy and Jasmine stood there and watched him walk in, the fire roaring slightly harder when he got into the vicinity. Lucy glanced over at Jasmine, although she couldn't tell what the looks crossing her face meant. She looked back at the burning church.

_So, this is what he can do. It's kind of scary, honestly, but not the worst option. But what now? No doubt there's going to a trail leading right to us if he keeps burning things down. I think he's smarter than that, but if we ever need him to use his abilities again we're going to be in trouble. But he controlled it the first time, with those things on the road. I guess these things just needed a little more force to take care of._

She looked to the ground, pushing a little of the gravel around with her toe.

_I wonder how he's dealing with this. He had no idea, right? Or did he? Honestly, I don't know what to make of this situation. But at least he's kept me safe so far._

"What the?" Jasmine's voice broke the blonde girl out of her thoughts. Looking up, she saw what the cause was.

The fire had completely gone out. There were still some slight burn marks on the wood and stone, but otherwise, it seemed completely fine. Lucy blinked, staring at the building in confusion. On cue, Hachiman stepped out of the building, their stuff in one hand (wrapped in a couple of pieces of plastic) and a couple of the garbage bags of clothing in the other. He walked up to the trio and set the bags down in front of the pastor.

"Sorry, these were the only ones still usable," he said, avoiding eye contact and stepping away. He stepped up to Lucy and held out her bible to her. She took it from him, the familiar weight of the book comforting. As the teen retracted his hand, she saw something. Quickly, she grabbed his hand and turned it so that his palm was facing upwards.

All over his palm, leading down into his shirt, was blotchy skin. It was red and orange, warped and twisted into some blisters, and you could tell there would be scarring. She stared at it for a second, before looking up at the boy. Of all things, he looked slightly embarrassed.

"Guess absorbing the stuff is more dangerous than making it," he shrugged slightly. Lucy looked at him incredulously, ready to say something.

It was at that point that she realized she was looking at his eyes. She had never really seen them before. She had always been quick to avoid eye contact with him, out of fear that . . .

Looking at his eyes now, they didn't look like how you would expect them to. They were slightly duller, smaller. There were bags underneath them, she guessed from how exhausted he probably was. There was no glint in them that most of the people she had met, inside or out of the Foundation, had. The glint that was there until . . . something happened. They looked . . . sad. She wondered if they were a result of his abilities. If not, what could have happened to him to make him look like that?

She let out a sigh, letting go of his hand and looking away.

"I'm glad you're okay," She said.

"Yeah . . . me, too," He said awkwardly. "Anyways, we should probably get moving."

"Right, but where?"

"Hmmm . . . that's a good question." Hachiman looked up, racking his brain for the next possible move. "Probably out of this rain before we get sick."

Of course, they needed to think about a lot of things when considering where to go. Safety was one thing, but . . . he had no freaking clue. He had only a very little grasp on the outside world, and he doubted Lucy knew it any better than he did. So what should they do?

"Oi, just hold on a second!" Jasmine called out suddenly. Hachiman looked over to the rainbow-headed girl. "I wanna know how the heck you did all that stuff?"

"You and me both, bud," he said, causing Jasmine to look at him incredulously.

"Hachiman," Lucy said in a warning tone.

"Fine, fine," he sighed. "Look, for your safety, the less you know the better. That good enough for you?"

"No."

"Of course not. Well, that's all I'm telling you. See ya around," he turned away and started to walk in a random direction. "Damn it, I didn't even get any shoes." Lucy looked over at the retreating figure of Hachiman, before turning back to Jasmine.

"Sorry about him," She said apologetically. "Thank you for all your help." She turned and hurried to follow him, her feet feeling slightly better about walking now that they had protection.

"Wait, you-"

"Harry," The Pastor spoke out. The rainbow-headed teen stopped and flinched, turning around to look at her father.

"H-hi, dad," she said timidly.

Hachiman and Lucy kept walking. She figured that this was something that they needed to figure out on their own, and Hachiman was pre-occupied with other thoughts.

_Fucking feet hurt, can't even get any freaking shoes. Fucking arm hurts, just had to save that church from burning down, didn't I? Granted, I was the one who set it on fire, but still._

.

* * *

Switch to Hachiman's POV

* * *

.

Hachiman and Lucy had walked for quite some time before coming to rest in a public library, standing in the front hall as they were dripping water. Lucy's clothes were fairly soaked as she squeezed the water out of part of them, while Hachiman's 'clothes' seemed to be completely dry. Apparently, they were both fireproof and waterproof. The blonde girl shivered in the hallway as Hachiman stood unbothered by everything except his hair sticking to his face.

They both stood in silence as they waited for the rain to stop before continuing their journey. Hachiman did his best to ignore the dirty looks he was getting from the people inside. He guessed they really didn't like getting their floors wet or something.

"_So_ . . . you're religious, huh?" Hachiman said, attempting to make small talk.

"Yeah," Lucy said, sounding just as awkward as Hachiman was feeling.

". . . What's . . . that like?"

"Nice, I guess." Hachiman glanced at the girl.

"You don't sound too convinced."

"Well, it's kind of a weird question to ask out of nowhere, you know?"

"Is it? Sorry."

"No, you're fine. I guess I can't really blame you. It's just . . . a bunch of personal stuff, you know?"

Hachiman looked outside, watching the rain violently pour down. Once again, he had come to a sort of dilemma here. He wanted to . . . do something, maybe, but what could he even do? He was nothing but clueless about this stuff. Hell, he was sure he was half-insane, so how could he expect to make logical and rational decisions with someone's feelings? Plus, he had much bigger things to worry about. Like living.

Even so, he wanted to try and be . . . _normal-ish_. That's what normal people did, right? Help the people they were close to. And as far as he knew, he was closer to this girl than anything else. He looked back at her.

"It's not like we have anything better to do. Is there . . . something you want to talk about?" Lucy looked at him blankly.

"You're really bad at this, you know."

"Yeah, I know . . . Still, is there?"

". . . I mean, what is there to even talk about?" She turned away from him, looking outside with a downcast mask. "You know as much about me as there is to know."

"I don't think that's true," he said, looking away as well. "Besides, I wasn't asking to know you better. I was asking if there was anything you wanted to talk about."

". . . Those are pretty much the same things, you know," She said, her voice shrinking to barely above a whisper. "I guess . . . I don't know . . . my entire life is just . . . one big tragedy after another."

". . . well, I'm here to talk to now, seeing as we're going to be 'traveling' together." Lucy let out a soft chuckle at that before the downcast look came back to her face.

"I . . . I guess I do have some things I want to talk about. Honestly, it's nothing I haven't gone over before. Back when I was still in foundation custody, all these psychologists talked to me, but none of them ever felt like they actually viewed me as a _person_ . . . After being surrounded by that for so long, it feels like all your problems are just assignments, just things for them to get on paper and go home at the end of the day. I've never really ever felt that anyone truly cared about how I felt." She looked down at her hand, at the bible she held covered in plastic. Hachiman followed her gaze from the corner of his eye, before looking up at her.

"Sounds stifling," Hachiman said. "Is that why you're religious?"

"Why're you so curious about the reason behind my faith?" Hachiman shrugged.

"I suppose that's one of the reasons I stayed religious, but as to finding faith . . . I can draw it down to two reasons. The simplest one is, it's simply how I was raised. I spent years of my life in a convent, surrounded by nuns. My father had put me there because it was the safest place for me outside the reach of places like the Foundation or the G.O.C. I was raised to follow His teachings. The second . . . well, I guess the second reason is that I hated my parents. My mother more than anything.

She was something of a nature deity. She wanted to return the human race to what she described as 'Eden.' I never figured out what that meant, other than it was a 'state of being' or something along those lines, and frankly, I never cared. She . . . _used_ me in a lot of her 'rituals' with her followers. Every time, she wore this content smile, as if she was proud of sitting there and . . . _watching_ what they did to me. It made me sick, but I couldn't run, and at the time . . . there was nowhere I could run where she couldn't have found me. Near the end of her life, I think she almost completed what she was after, but my father stopped her. I regret the way we met, my father and I. Before my mother died, I didn't even know I _had_ a father.

And my first memory of him is the sight of a shotgun on the back of my mother's head.

After all her followers were killed, he took me away from that place. I had thought he would stay with me, but he left me at the convent and I would never see him in person again. The only time I would even hear from him after that was in a letter while the Foundation had me, and another after . . . well, you know. I had this idea in my head that I would live a happy life with my true parent, right until I was standing on the steps of the church watching him walk away.

I guess the idea of someone who did nothing but love people, love _me._ Someone who wouldn't abandon, who wouldn't hurt me . . . I suppose that's what set me on the path . . . I just needed . . . someone. Someone who wouldn't leave me, who would always watch out for me. Even throughout my worst nights, the thought of God, or something like him at least . . ."

She trailed off, and Hachiman stared her down. It turns out her problems were a lot more complicated than he thought. Or maybe they weren't as complicated as he thought? He didn't know. But she did open up to him, and that was something he couldn't ignore.

". . . I have to be honest here, I don't really know what _God_ is. I don't know what anything is really. All I remember is those couple of days inside that laptop . . . but if you need someone to rely on, well-"

"Don't," she cut him off. "You're not immortal, Hachiman. You can still die. I can't let someone in like that, not again. This world . . . it kills everything."

Hachiman didn't respond. This obviously wasn't something she could get over within a couple of days, and it would be unfair to try and force her past that barrier she had put up, especially after learning everything she had gone through. But the very fact that she was willing to share something so personal with him . . . that meant she was reaching out, but she's still afraid of being hurt, of losing someone again.

"Tell me . . . what's the point of making friends if you know they'll all die?"

Hachiman blinked in surprise. That was a loaded question, why was she throwing that curveball at him? Oh, right. She was probably just as bad as him at handling feelings and emotions. It wasn't something he could blame her for, but still . . . anyway, if she was asking seriously, then what would be the point? Why should we do anything if you know the outcome is going to be bad? Well . . . he couldn't think of anything. He was a cynical loner, after all. Or at least, he was supposed to be. So, if he was an optimist, what would his answer be?

"I gotta be honest, I don't know the answer to that," He settled, leaning his back against the wall. "But it might be nice to try out, you know."

". . . try what out?"

"Having a friend."

She was silent after that. She did not turn away from the wall or make a noise, but he could see she was contemplating his words in her head. He figured it was a selfish thing to say at that moment, but he couldn't help being honest. She opened up to him about some pretty horrid stuff, she at least deserved him being transparent with her.

They stood in silence for a while, listening to the sounds of pouring rain from the outside. After a while, the awkward atmosphere disappeared, and they stood in something close to a content air. Hachiman simply watched the rain fall outside, seeing how the droplets affected the puddles. It stirred something up inside him. He felt fascinated . . . and afraid. By _water_.

_It might have something to do with the voice in my head that wants to burn everything._ He thought to himself humorously.

"When do you reckon the rain'll let up?"

"Eh? I don't know."

"It's been going for longer than usual," Lucy shivered slightly. "Then again that's what the weather's always like here."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah . . ."

". . ."

". . ."

". . . Oh, it's a car," Hachiman said, noticing a black car pulling up in front of the library. Lucy stood up, looking out at the vehicle warily until a head of rainbow hair popped out of the passenger seat. "Oh, it's a Jasmine."

The girl walked into the door, stopping to look the two other teens up and down.

". . . you guys really look like garbage." She said. Hachiman saw that, underneath the slight dampness of being in the rain for a second, her eyes were slightly red.

"You don't look too hot yourself, either."

"How'd you find us?" Lucy asked, stepping closer to the girl.

"Well, it's not like we were hiding or anything." Hachiman pointed out. "Just kind popped in somewhere."

"Yeah, we just drove around until I saw you guys. Figured you couldn't have gotten far."

"We?"

Jasmine gestured at the car behind her. Peering over her shoulder, he saw that there was an older girl in the driver seat of the car, meticulously doing her makeup in the mirror. Her tan was much too fake-looking as if she had serial hit the salon three times before heading out. _Gyaru_, he thought for some reason.

"Where's the pastor? He's still not mad I torched his place, is he?" Jasmine's eyes flinched only so slightly that Hachiman was able to pick it up, but sure enough, it was there.

"No, he, uh . . . well, after you guys split he was just demanding to know how I knew you guys. When I said I didn't, he started saying some other stuff that I didn't really care for, so I just left, you know." She said nonchalantly, glancing away as she said the last part. "Anyways, I need to thank you guys for . . . not letting me die, I guess."

"Well, you were kinda in that situation because of us, so I'd say it's expected that we'd get you out," Hachiman said. Jasmine hesitated for a second.

"Well . . . yeah, I guess . . . even so, you guys don't have a place to stay, right? My friends are willing to let you guys stay with us until you guys find somewhere permanent."

". . . Look, I appreciate it, but I'm not sure that's the safest thing for you to do. We're involved with some pretty scary stuff. I think it's best if we were to just leave."

"And go where? I'm guessing you guys don't have anywhere else to stay."

". . . well . . ."

"Or even any place to go?"

". . . We have some ideas," Hachiman lied.

"Look, unless you want to continue living on the streets for the near future, I'm the best option you got," She crossed her arms in defiance. Hachiman stared at her for a while, not breaking eye contact. To her credit, she didn't back down, although she did appear increasingly uncomfortable underneath his gaze. Even he found it hard to keep his cool, seeing as she was just fairly attractive. Only fairly. After a second, he glanced at Lucy, who was looking at him unsurely. He let out a sigh.

"Well, I guess we're in your care now," he surrendered. She let off a toothy grin, pearl white teeth almost glowing. _Fuckin' great._

"Sweet. Let's go get you guys dry," she said, nodding over to the car.

Hachiman followed her outside, the trio rushing to the car through the rain. He let Lucy go in first, she was already wet enough, before sitting inside and closing the back door, separating themselves from the rain.

"Fucking Lemony Snicket, what series of unfortunate events have you lot been through, you look fucking awful." The stranger said.

"Thank you, it's nice when someone notices the effort," Hachiman replied sarcastically, earning an elbow from Lucy.

"Play nice, D," Jasmine said to the driver girl, who shrugged and took off.

As they drove along the roads, Hachiman looked out the window, watching the water run down the sides. He wondered what they would do from that point on. It was anyone's call, really. He guessed he would just let Lucy choose. She had been through a lot, she deserved to choose her own fate. Besides, she probably knew what she wanted more than he did.

What did he want? Honestly, he couldn't say. He wanted to stay free, sure, and he definitely wanted to live, but beyond that, he had no idea.

_You know what, I have other things to worry about right now. _He thought, shifting his gaze to the front of the car. _I gotta focus on surviving for now. I can have feelings later._

Yeah, that was definitely the right way to go about it. He shifted his gaze to the rainbow headed stranger in the passenger seat, chatting away excitedly with her friend. It occurred to him that maybe getting in the car with a couple of strangers to a place you knew nothing about wasn't really a good idea. Eh, if it came to it he could always fight their way out. Besides, she seemed trustworthy enough, he doubted that she was going to try anything with them.

_And hey, maybe, she'll be helpful or something._ He thought. As if on cue, she glanced at him, creating eye contact between the two. She stared at him for a second, before giving a smirk and slyly winking at him. He back out of the window out of irritation, and most definitely not blushing.

* * *

"Welcome to the HQ," Jasmine said, as they entered the house. It wasn't a big place, but it sure was full. Mostly females, although there were some guys walking around. They all dressed very suggestively, and a thick stench immediately hit his face, blocking out all other thoughts as he covered his nose.

"What's that smell?" He asked nasally. Lucy had copied his action as soon as she had set foot in the building herself.

"It smells like a skunk," she agreed, holding her nostrils closed. Jasmine looked at them incredulously, before letting out a laugh.

"That's just the smell of people having a fucking blast," she shrugged them off, retreating deeper into the building. "Come on, I'll show you where you guys can stay."

They walked through a long hallway, Hachiman getting all kinds of stares and comments as he walked along, mostly about how "mysterious" and "dangerous" he looked. If he was gonna have to deal with that for a while then that was gonna be an issue.

"You all live here?" Lucy asked.

"Yes, and no. This place is owned by Mama Trudy, and she does let people live here, but for the most part, this is a . . . drift center, you know? People who're moving around, no real place to stay, homeless or abandoned, end up here. Some of us have become long-term residents, but mostly its just the temporaries. Those of us who choose to stay help out when we can, working towards the costs and looking out for anyone who might need a place to stay."

"Seems crowded," Hachiman said, stepping past a couple of teens making out in the middle of the hallway.

"It can be, but it's better than living on the streets," she shrugged. She opened a door near the end of the hallway, leading into a small two-bedroom. There was nothing else in the room to save the beds and one bedside cabinet and lamp that separated them. "Here you go."

". . . Hm," Hachiman said, looking at the status of the room. It was liveable, sure, but . . . "Is it possible for us to have two rooms?" She blinked, looking at him incredulously. Lucy glanced at him, not saying anything.

"Sorry, man, there's someone in every room." Hachiman thought for a second.

"Then is there an extra spot in another room?" Jasmine blinked, looking between Lucy and Hachiman.

"Uh, I'm sure I can figure something out, but . . . nevermind, be right back."

She closed the door behind her, leaving Hachiman and Lucy standing alone in the room. Lucy glanced at Hachiman, and then the room around them, before back at him.

"Uh . . ." She started, and Hachiman looked over at her. She cast her eyes at his chin, again avoiding eye contact. "I mean, it's a small room, but why do we need two?"

". . . I just figured you would be more comfortable that way."

She gazed at him for a second, before giving him a small smile.

"Thank you."

"It's not that big a deal," he waved it off, turning around. ". . . Where's the outlet in here?"

"Huh? I would think next to that lamp over there." Lucy said. Hachiman walked over and sat down, pulling his belongings out of the plastic bag he had wrapped them in. Plugging in the laptop, he opened it up to see that it was charging, and on 2 percent batter.

_Well, after a car crash, a storm, multiple monster attacks, and a burning building, I'm surprised this thing got out in one piece. Still, a real close call._

* * *

_Enter Chat:_

**Totsuka:**

Hachiman!

**User:**

Yo.

**Totsuka:**

. . . You kept your promise.

**User:**

That I did.

**Totsuka:**

How's life on the outside?

**User:**

Stressful, almost died twice in the last two days

**Totsuka:**

Are you okay?

**User**:

Eh, I'll be fine. How are you feeling?

**Totsuka:**

That's a good question . . . I guess I'm relieved more than anything I'm not dead.

**User:**

That's good. I got a couple of questions.

**Totsuka:**

Well, pitter-patter.

**User:**

. . . What?

**Tostuska:**

That's something I found in your memories.

**User:**

Okay, so I'm really from a place called Chiba, then?

**Totsuka:**

Yep. I don't know the current state of it, you were brought into custody quite some time ago.

**User:**

.So, what about my family then?

**Totsuka:**

I don't know too much about them, but everyone you saw in here, or at least each individual, is a real person you knew. I think we got the relationships right, too, or pretty close at least. Couldn't grasp the personalities, tho, the human condition is a bit too complicated.

**User:**

**.**

**Totsuka:**

Hachiman?

**User:**

Talk to you later

_Chat Ended_

* * *

Hachiman looked up from the laptop, his thoughts racing as he closed it. So all those people he saw inside were real? He really had a family, friends? So what now? Would he just pop back into their lives like that, try and find himself? Would they even still be there? What if they were already dead? What if Totsuka was lying?

"Hachiman?" Lucy asked. The Japanese teen looked up, seeing her giving him a concerned look. "Are you sure that's okay?"

". . . Oh, yeah, this thing's totally safe, trust me," he said, closing it and setting on the bed to charge. "You feeling okay?" She sat down on the opposite bed from him and sighed.

"As fine as expected, I guess."

"Yeah . . . sorry about the clothes," he said.

"It's not your fault."

"Well, honestly it was pretty stupid to just up and start walking in the middle of the rain." Lucy chuckled at that.

"Yeah, it was. But at least we're fine now."

"As fine as expected, I guess," he agreed. ". . . Say, what do you think about heading to Chiba?"

"Chiba?"

"Japan. That's . . . where I'm from," he said. "I mean, it's not like we have anywhere else to go. I figured we'd find _something_ there, you know?"

Lucy looked at Hachiman for a second, before averting her gaze out the window. She was deep in thought, a sad look contorted on her face. She wanted to say something, but she probably couldn't find the correct way to phrase it.

". . . I . . . think that's too risky," she said. "I'm sorry, but the Foundation knows everything about you. The moment we set foot in that place, they'll already be there to catch us."

"Yea, that makes sense . . . sorry." He said. She turned to him with an apologetic look.

"No, no, it's fine Hachiman. I know that you probably want to know who you are, and find the people who knew you, but . . . it's just too dangerous. I'm sorry."

"It's cool, Lucy. I kinda figured that already. Don't worry." He waved it off, giving her a small smile. This seemed to have the opposite effect, as Lucy looked sadder. She opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Heyo," Jasmine said as she walked in. An effeminate looking boy walked in behind her (any more feminine he would be forced to call this guy a trap), followed by the driver (D, if he remembered correctly). The boy noticed him immediately and sat down on the bed next to him. Hachiman raised an eyebrow at him, before turning his attention back to Jasmine. "So, I got two options for you. One, you can bunk with my friend Jay, or she can bunk with D here. Although I gotta warn you, Jay is extremely . . . _eccentric._"

"I'm a slut." The boy said a bit too enthusiastically while attempting to be seductive, staring Hachiman down.

". . . Okay, Jay. Jay, okay. Okay, jay. Jay, okay." Hachiman looked over at Lucy. She realized she was being put on the spot and shrunk in on herself.

"Uh, I, uh . . . would rather be alone." She said nervously. Hachiman gave her nod and turned back to the boy who had sat down next to him.

"Thanks for letting me stay with you."

"Oh, for a cute guy like you, anything." He said, winking. Hachiman had no reaction.

"So it's settled," Jasmine said. She turned to Jay. "Behave yourself."

"Awe, but I'm sure we both need to let off some steam, hm?" He turned to Hachiman, looking at him slyly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Come on, you looked stressed," the boy said, rubbing his arm against Hachiman's. "I could help you relieve some of that, yeah?"

"Okay, Jay. Jay, okay. Okay, Jay. Jay, okay." Hachiman said to himself, before turning his head to look at the shorter boy. "And what exactly are you implying?"

"I'm talking about going warcraft on your man-shaft." Jasmine let out an exasperated sigh at that.

"Jay-"

"You talking about rubbing slick on the disco stick?" Hachiman countered.

"Fresh route to your flesh flute."

"Lower fiver to the deep V diver?"

"Can't go V divin', but you can explore my dark cove."

"You talking about going through the backdoor?"

"Talking about the dirt road home."

"Talking about a little stank on the hang-down?"

"Nothing wrong with a little building the blanket monster."

"Hell, I know there's nothing wrong with a little goin' to the boneyard, I know that."

"I take it back, this guy is awesome," D said from the doorframe, trying to hold in her laughter.

"Why don't we hit the kitchen, mix a batch?"

"Thanks, but I'm not really in the mood to distribute some free literature."

"You saying I'm not attractive?" The boy smirked.

"Don't be puttin' words in my mouth." Hachiman's expression remained unchanged.

"H-Hey, how about we go do that thing we were gonna do, yeah?" Jasmine said, looking between the two nervously. Hachiman looked over to her.

"Well, pitter-patter." He stood up, walking away from the bed. "I'll be back." He said to Lucy before following Jasmine down the hallway. Behind him, he could hear Jay and D talking below their breath.

"_I wasn't even serious but this guy is freakin awesome,_" Jay whispered excitedly

_Maybe I had too much fun with that._ Hachiman thought.

"So, how'd you end up in this part of town?" D asked. Hachiman glanced back at her, before looking ahead of him.

"Car crash, burnt some stuff, found a church, burnt more stuff, and that landed me here," He said.

"Is that why you guys look so much like crap?" D asked.

"This conversation's about to turn into a confrontation," Hachiman replied.

"Now that I think about it, you look a lot better than when I found you this morning," Jasmine mused, studying his face as they turned a corner. "Yeah, you were cut up to kingdom come but now there's not a scratch on you."

"Well, I guess I'm just special like that," he glanced at her, making eye contact. They held it for another second before Jasmine grunted and looked forward.

"Okay, if you're gonna hang around here, you gotta follow a couple of rules. One, don't steal from anyone in here. Two, don't break anything in here. Three, don't risk the safety or freedom of anyone here. And that's pretty much it."

"Simple enough," he said. They entered the kitchen, were Jasmine walked around the counter and opened the fridge. She bent over to rummage through it, and Hachiman averted his gaze to the other side of the kitchen. ". . . Is there anything else?"

"Pretty much."

"Question."

"Shoot."

"Why did we have to come here for you to say all that? We could've had this conversation in the room."

"Well," she backed out of the fridge, holding an apple in her hand. "One, I was hungry. And two . . .

. . . I want you to show them."

Hachiman blinked, studying the girl's face to see if she was serious. Unfortunately, it appeared she was.

"And may I ask why?"

"'Cause I think it'd be cool," Jasmine rolled her eyes. "It's a safety precaution."

". . . How?"

"I don't have to explain the precautions."

"Well, if you're not explainin', I'm not doin'," He crossed his arms. Jasmine let out a sigh full of irritation.

"Look, you're gonna be staying in our home, in this dude's _room_. Complete transparency is required. Don't worry, no one's gonna come at you with torches and pitchforks, although I doubt you would care much if they did. We're all freaks and outcasts here."

Hachiman rolled his eyes but was extremely conflicted on the inside he was conflicted. He could see where she was coming from, but it felt smarter to just up and leave right now rather than deal with the headache of so many people knowing his secret. After all, if someone of something (specifically an organization hell-bent on hiding things like him) were to come looking for him, the easier it would be to find him. But on the other hand . . . they had nowhere to go. This was the closest thing to a sanctuary available to them.

He made eye contact with Jay, who was looking at him like . . . actually, he didn't want to relay how he was being looked at by the feminine boy. D was just looking at her phone, not really interested. He scanned the area around him and saw that there was no one else in the room.

With a sigh, he held out his arm limply in front of him. He looked at it, trying to find the rush of adrenaline from before. His heart slowly quickened just a bit, as a single thought entered his mind.

_**BURN**_

His hand ignited.

"Holy shit!" Jay said, jumping back a little. He couldn't see D's reaction, and Jasmine looked somewhat in awe and pleased at the same time.

"Told you," She said.

"Yeah, yeah," D said somewhere behind him. Hachiman let the fire go out, raising an eyebrow at Lucy.

"Satisfied?"

"Definitely," Jasmine said, stepping closer to him. In this close proximity, he could smell a faint lily-perfume and tried hard not to think about that. "Hachiman, welcome to the Serpents' Hand."


	9. Comme ça, je me mens

**So, a quick note. When I was writing chapter 7, I had planned 'Jasmine' to be just a very feminine boy, but I changed her story to something a bit more complicated, which I will go into later. When I changed the pronouns, there were some that I missed, and that caused some confusion. I apologize for this and have gone back and fixed all the mistakes so that it makes sense. I just wanted to say this to avoid further confusion with the plot, specifically her story. **

**Thank you, and enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

Non mais hey, tu délires, tu ne resteras qu'un grand sac d'os.

_No, but hey, you are delusional, you will only be left with a big bag of bones_

* * *

". . . Serpent's Hand?" He asked. Jasmine nodded.

"That's right. We're something of a little movement to help people like you."

"People like me?"

"Yep. People . . . or animals . . . or objects."

". . . You're talking about anomalies."

"Right," she said with a wink. "See, not all anomalies are these malevolent, 'I-want-to-end-all-life' things. Some like you just want to live normally and free, without being prosecuted for something you can't control."

"We have a pamphlet!" Jay piped in. Hachiman looked over at the feminine boy, who was holding up a folded piece of shiny green paper.

"Good for you?" Hachiman tried, looking back to Jasmine. "So, what, you're just a . . . ?"

"An anomalous rights activist group, putting it simply," She said.

"So this whole place is a-"

"Not the whole place," D piped in this time, causing Hachiman to look over at the extremely tan girl. "A couple of us, the long-term, eventually found out about the true nature of this place and joined. On the surface, this place is just a drifter center, which makes it perfect." Hachiman raised an eyebrow at that.

"Perfect how?"

"Well," Jasmine said, and Hachiman turned back to her, "for starters if anything weird happens, as long as it's small, we can chalk it up to just some accident and no one will care. A place frequently occupied by homeless people and drug addicts isn't something that's gonna attract too much sympathy from the media. Secondly, we can get people around. With the number of strange characters that pop up, we can move around anything or anyone pretty easily."

". . . That's cool and all, but why're you telling me this?"

"Cause we want you to join, obviously," Jay piped in.

"You said yourself, you have no place to go. Well, the way I see it this is a good a place as any to make something of yourself."

". . . Yeah, thanks but no thanks," Hachiman crossed his arms over his chest. "We're trying to get away from all this 'anomaly' stuff, not go and join groups centered around the stuff."

"*Sigh* Look, I get that you've probably had a lot of excitement, but this 'anomaly' stuff . . . it isn't something that you can just leave. Especially you, Mr. Hothead."

"I have done nothing to warrant that name."

"Even so, my point stands." Jasmine took a bite of the apple in her hand.

"And If I refuse your offer?" Hachiman asked, glaring at her suspiciously.

"Scary," she commented, flinching back in mock intimidation.

"We're not going to force you to join," D said, and Hachiman had to turn and look at her. "You can stay for as long as you want and then leave, we won't stop you. It would be smarter to join us, though, especially if you have people like the Bookburners or the Jailors."

". . . the who?"

"The-" Jay started.

"Okay, Look!" Hachiman suddenly yelled, shutting them all up. "If you're just gonna keep piping in like that, could you at least stand in front of me?! Got my head on a goddamned swivel here."

There were silent for a second before Jay walked over to stand next to Jasmine.

"The Global Occult Coalition and the SCP Foundation," Jay finished.

"Thank you."

"These organizations view people like you like things to be contained and studied, or destroyed. The view you as a sub-category of existence. We don't. Sure, most of us are ordinary people. But we are people who embrace the anomalous and the supernatural. We oppose its suppression. How can you expect us not to? Our friends, family members, and we could fall outside of the bounds of normalcy. Every single one of us here has experienced something unexplained, otherworldly."

". . . That was surprisingly nuanced from Mr. 'I'm-a-slut.'" Hachiman deadpanned. Jay gave him a silly wink.

"As D said, we aren't going to force you into anything you don't want to do. But just think about it. All over the world, innocent people are killed simply because they variate from the norm," Jasmine stood up to him, looking up at him slightly to make eye contact. "Just think about that." As the Japanese boy made eye contact with her, the cogs started to turn in his head.

". . . say, remember when you first bothered me?"

". . . you mean, this morning?" Jasmine asked, confused. _Now that I think about it, asking someone to join your little militia after knowing them for a handful of hours isn't exactly smart either. . . I'll get to that later._

"Yeah. Lucy and I were carrying things that had Foundation marks on them. You had to have noticed that, especially since you know about the Foundation."

"Well, I-"

"Furthermore, what makes you think I wasn't a part of those people?"

"One, the fact that you have anomalous properties, and two, the fact that you were just walking around with what could be dangerous and secret items like they were a school project."

"Fair point. But still, an organization that's entire goal is to hide the anomalous from people would no doubt start using anomalous objects or even people to do it."

"While that-"

"And put that with the fact that you barely know me, besides the fact that I can make fire appear from my body, and that's enough to ask me to join your group? A stranger with no way to make sure I'm not an enemy?"

"W-Well, we need all the help we can get."

"Thank you for clarifying, and now to my final point. The fact that this is a 'drifter center' as you put it is more than a cover, but a recruiting center. You guys have nearly no members, don't you?" Hachiman said with a smirk. Jasmine stepped back from him, looking embarrassed. "An 'activist group' probably has a hard enough time gathering people, but no doubt you guys suffer massive losses regularly, either from people dying or leaving. And the 'Global Occult Coalition' sounds like a pretty dangerous group. I'm guessing some kind of military?"

". . . Yeah."

"So, when you put all these factors together, it adds up to pretty desperate for new people, especially when going up against military groups. So thanks, but I think Lucy and I would have a better chance on the road. It's a noble enough goal, though, and I wish you all the luck with it."

Jasmine stared at him, looking almost disappointed. Jay looked between the two of them, most likely unsure what to do next in this situation. They both seemed pretty excited about him joining their group, but Hachiman was a little smarter than that.

". . . If that's what you want, then I can't stop you," Jasmine said in defeat. "But can I just ask you one thing?"

"If I said no, would you still-"

"Just wait until Mama Trudy comes back," Jasmine said, almost pleading with him. "All I'm asking is one talk with her, then you can leave."

Hachiman stared Jasmine down. There was a hopeful glint in her eyes. She was probably thinking that this 'Mama Trudy' character could convince him to stay. They must have been more desperate for people than he thought if they were willing to go through all this just to get two more. But honestly, it probably had to do with the fact that he could shoot fire out his hands. He should just refuse and leave.

. . . but he still had no idea where he and Lucy would go. They had no plan, no resources, he didn't even have shoes. So, it looked like he was stuck here until he could come up with something.

"First, a quick question."

"Sure."

"Why didn't you invite Lucy into this little conversation?" Hachiman asked.

"Well, I-"

"Wait, let me guess, it's because I can fight to some degree and she can't?"

"What, no. Not everything in this world has to be solved through violence, you know," Jasmine rolled her eyes. "She was soaked, I just wanted to get her a change of clothes and stuff before she got sick, and you were already free, so-"

"You didn't think to just wait for both of us to be ready and then ask us together?"

". . . No," Jasmine admitted.

". . . This is your first time recruiting people, isn't it?" Hachiman asked. The look she gave him said it all. "*Sigh* After I talk to Lucy, I'll give you an answer," He gave in. Jasmine gave him a small smile. "But on one condition . . . can you get me some shoes?"

Jay gave him a nod, going off somewhere to retrieve them for him. He was left alone with Jasmine, and suddenly he was trapped until Jay got back with the shoes. He stood awkwardly looking around the room, trying to avoid eye-contact with the rainbow-headed girl.

"You know," Jasmine said, breaking the silence, "Given all that's happened in the past day, you seem to be handling it all pretty well."

"Would handling it badly change anything?"

"No, but still, you seem pretty together."

"On the _contraire_, I'm handling it as anyone would. Although, if you would tell me what you mean by 'it?'"

"You know, those . . . things back at the church, learning about the Serpent's Hand. You don't seem faced by any of this stuff, it's kind of cool."

"I think you're giving me too much credit," Hachiman rolled his eyes. Jasmine gave him a weird look.

". . . Did I say something to tick you off?"

"Hm? . . . No, not that I know of."

"It's just, you're kind of rude."

"I'm pretty sure I'm just like this."

"You weren't like that with Jay," she said with a pout. Hachiman looked away, off to the side.

"So?"

"You know, we can just kick you out if you're gonna be an asshole," the D girl said. Weird, Hachiman had forgotten she was there.

"*Sigh* D, I can handle my own problems," Jasmine said.

Hachiman started to think about what she had said. Sure, she was annoying, but why? There was something about her that was . . . slightly irritating, although he couldn't put his finger on it. It probably started around the time she first opened her mouth . . . okay, that sounded a little meaner than it had to, but he digressed. When she had first come up to him, she had acted super flamboyant. Did he have a problem with that? No, Jay acted like that too, and he didn't explicit the same reaction.

It was more about how she did it that rubbed him the wrong way. No, that wasn't right either.

"Why do you care so much about how I feel about you?" Hachiman counter. Jasmine blinked, taken aback from being put on the spot so abruptly, before crossing her arms under her chest, accentuating it quite a bit. Hachiman concentrated to keep impure thoughts from his mind.

"I don't. I just don't like jerks," She countered.

". . . No, it's more than that," He realized, squinting as he tried to put the pieces together in his head.

"No! No! Don't you do that!" She yelled while pointing a finger at him, breaking his concentration. He blinked, looking at her confused.

"Don't do what?"

"That . . . that _thing_ you did earlier, with the chains and figuring out the Hand's memberships. None of that." She finished with a huff, recrossing her arms.

". . . That's it, isn't it?"

"_Noooo_," she said with a warning tone.

"You don't want me to figure you out. Sorry to disappoint, but I'm nowhere near . . ." He stopped himself and trailed off, suddenly realizing something. "Ah, that's it?"

". . . What's it?" Jasmine said in a hesitant interrogation.

"I figured out why you tick me off."

"Oh, is that all?" She replied sarcastically.

"You don't want me to figure you out because you're being dishonest," he said with realization, uncrossing his arms and putting his hands on his hips. Jasmine blinked.

"Now, just wait a second, I-"

"Oh, I'm not saying you're a liar," he said, waving off whatever comment she was about to make. "But you're dishonest about yourself. This you isn't _you_, is it?"

". . . what in the bloody hell is that supposed to mean?" She asked, but there was a slip in her voice. A hint of nervousness.

"You're acting in a way that isn't true to yourself, and that's what rubs me so wrong. See, Jay is completely honest about himself, albeit a little _too _much, and while Lucy might have some problems sharing, she's never acted against her nature. There's just . . . something about you that makes me feel this isn't _you_, although I can't figure it out. I suppose that's what's bugging me so much? I don't know, it's as much as I got."

". . . so, I rub you the wrong way because you think I'm . . . acting against my nature?" Jasmine said, forcing a tone in her voice to appear unfazed by what the boy had said, but the slight fear in her tone was something he could make out in a heartbeat. "And what makes you say that?"

". . ." Now that he thought about it, what was the point? Why was he even bringing it up in the first place? He had other things to worry about. "Never mind, forget I said anything." Jasmine blinked in confusion, but there was a slight look of relief on her face as he let the subject go.

_In the end, what does it matter to me? Even if I can see she's acting unnatural, what right do I have to stick my nose in her business?_

The door opened somewhere behind him, and he looked over to see Jay presenting a pair of shoes to him. They were . . . honestly, how they looked didn't matter to him. They were shoes, so they were good. He took them immediately, putting them on. To his surprise, they fit just fine, not squeezing anything too hard. They felt soft on his soles and the balls of his feet, and the pressure didn't make them ache. God, it was nice to have shoes.

"Thank you," He told Jay. He turned back to Jasmine. "Is there anything else you need?"

". . . No, you're good," She said. Hachiman gave her a nod, before turning back and walking down the hallway they had come.

Jay had decided to tag along with him, almost skipping beside the boy as they walked. Hachiman tried to ignore yet another couple making out on the staircase as he walked past. Was this going to be a normal thing around here? Could be worse, they could be smoking that stuff that smelled like a skunk got knocked ass-backward. Honestly, how could people enjoy something that smelled so fucking bad? What could it possibly do to make up for that?

"So," Jay said out of nowhere. "Are you gay?" Hachiman glanced at the boy out the side of his eye.

"Little straightforward, isn't it?"

"Just trying to make casual conversation," the boy shrugged, trying to play casually. Hachiman rolled his eyes.

"Sure you are."

". . . You're at least bi, right?"

"I don't fuckin' know," Hachiman said as he turned a corner. Jay pouted.

"Aw, what happened to the playful Hachiman from earlier."

"Don't you see, I got shoes. I'm a new man now," he said, getting to Lucy's door. He knocked on it lightly. "Yo, you decent?"

"_Yeah, you can come in._" Lucy's voice called through the door. Hachiman opened it and walked in.

The blonde girl had changed into a dry set of clothes. Her new set seemed to match better than her random assortment of items from the church. A thin black shirt and what looked like jogging sweats, with tennis shoes. It was a surprisingly simple outfit, but it sure looked more comfortable and stable than a dress made out of bed-sheets.

"You look good," Hachiman commented, crossing the room. As he stepped in a certain spot on the carpet of the room, he heard a squish. Looking down, he saw a dark spot.

"Oh, sorry, I left my other clothes on the ground while I got changed. There really wasn't any other place to put them."

"How did they get this moist? You only sat your soaked self on this thing for like a second."

"Ugh, don't say that word."

"What, soaked?" Hachiman asked confused.

"No."

"_Aaaah,_"

"Moist." Jay and Hachiman said unison.

"What, you never been to Moist-iott in Somerset?" Jay said.

"Never watched Minnie and Mickey Moist when growing up, moist likely," Hachiman replied.

"Probably never listened to Paul Moist-Cartney."

"You don't know Saint Moist-destus? Moist-er Theresa?"

"What about that American rapper, Moist Malone?"

"Moist-er and Father by Moist-donna."

"Nothing really Moisters."

"Saddest song out there, Moist world, tears for fears."

"Oh, every time I hear it, I can only cheer myself up with some moist-adamia nut pie."

"Some moisten chocolate cake?"

"Oh, I always wanted to visit moist-Cauley island in New Zealand!"

"I always wanted to meet Moist-C Hammer."

"Okay, I'm scared now," Lucy said, looking worriedly between the two. Hachiman shrugged, sitting on the opposite bed from her.

"Just havin' a little fun," Hachiman said. "I finally got some shoes."

"Again with the shoes," Lucy sighed. "You couldn't get any new clothes?"

"Nah, these are just fine."

". . . You look homeless."

"I'm not gonna get some clothes when they're just gonna end up burnt to a crisp. I like these just fine."

"I'm sure you do, but you could at least wear something over them. They can't be warm with all those holes in the stitching."

"Speaking of holes," Jay interrupted, "I'm gonna go stuff my face one. You guys want anything?"

"No thank you."

"I'm cool."

"All right," Jay stepped backward out the room. "See you later, Hachi~"

"Well, pitter-patter," he replied, and Jay was gone.

Hachiman laid down on the bed, crossing his arms behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling.

"You two sure seem friendly," Lucy said.

"I suppose so," Hachiman replied. "He's kinda funny."

". . . So, what did Jasmine want?"

"Oh, right, that. Well . . ."

.

.

.

* * *

Yukinoshita Hitori entered his home for the first time that week. It wasn't unusual for him to be away from home for long periods of time, neither was it unusual for his wife. His daughters lived on their own, something about "being more independent." He hadn't really cared, if they wanted to live on their own, let them. His wife seemed to have a problem with it, although he couldn't remember for the life of him why. He was worried about some pointless political argument at the time, so he neglected the situation.

Anyway, the point of this was that there was rarely a time more than one person occupied the Yukinoshita household.

Yet at this point, he had returned to a home occupied by all three.

"Welcome home, darling," Yukinoshita Ichika said, sipping calmly on some tea. He could hear the under-hint of aggression in her voice.

No doubt she was going to confront him about the amount of time he's been spending out of the country, away from the politics and the company. She had probably brought their daughters to use as a weapon against him when she would. Two, maybe even a year and a half ago, this idea would have frightened him. Those who incurred the wrath of Yukinoshita Ichika knew well enough the kind of havoc she could wreak. She was a frightening woman, surely, one that had more power than even him.

But, now, she was just . . . a person. How could someone like this even be of a nuisance to him? It made him feel guilty to think of his wife this way, but he had found Mekhane. She had not. No matter how intimidating she could come off, now there was no possible power she held over him. Even if she left, and barred his children from reaching out to him, they were just people. If he could lead them to Mekhane, he would, but if not . . . well, simply put, they would just be lost as casualties of war. And with the prophesied day so close, he did not have the time to worry about lost sheep.

Still, for now, he would pretend to play her game.

"Is there some sort of celebration I was unaware of?" He asked, smiling at them. The smile was genuine enough, although it was one of amusement more than anything else. He cared not for the masquerade of everyday life, not after finding his calling.

"Can a family not eat together without there needing to be a reason?" His wife retorted. His daughters ate silently, looking at only their bowls. They were so terrified by their mother, it was honestly . . . pathetic.

He knew what he had to do. He could show them the way, a path away from the feeble life they were leading. He would lead them to the true god. If he could not, oh well, but he was too far blessed to purport to be one of these failed things. He would show them the way by revealing them just how pitiful they truly were.

"Well, yes, although it is unexpected, seeing as it is our family. Is it not?" He responded sincerely. "I wonder what your ulterior motive is this time?"

His wife snapped her head up to him, caught off guard. His daughters seemed just as perplexed by his statement. Of course, how long had it been since they spoke, face-to-face? Months, maybe. Surely a picture-perfect family by traditional models, but far from a perfect one in any other aspect. They were so used to the endless cycles of their status, attempting to make themselves feel important as if power could come from everyday impotent arguments and systems. He had said one simple sentence, and that was enough to begin to bring their little dance to a halt. Could they not see how ignorant and lost they truly were?

Nevertheless, he sits down at the table with them, not bothering to take off his shoes. He planned on leaving soon after the meal was done, and his religion taught that it was best to stay ready to pursue a new trail of information at a moment notice. Tradition? What did he care about tradition? Just another pointless cycle created by those who refused to accept the advancement of life. You could never attain fulfillment wallowing in sinful traditions.

". . . What is the meaning of that remark?" She said, recovering that icy glare of hers. "You're too blunt." He could tell she meant '_You're too outspoken._' Still convinced his place was below her. A delusion of the unadvanced.

"I suppose you're right," Hitori said, still not having touched his meal. For some reason, it looked unappetizing. "But I grow weary of your games."

He saw his daughters exchange a glance, his wife glaring at him. He could see it on her face that she thought she still had power in this conversation. Her mistake was fooling herself in believing she had any significant power in the beginning.

"May I ask what I have done to warrant this outrageous behavior from you?" She challenged. "You fly for weeks at a time, and when you come back you hardly speak to me? You know how that makes us appear, do you not? As the head of this household, you have obligations."

"I do," Hitori retorted. "I'm simply beyond that. I have higher responsibilities elsewhere, there are no duties here that I must attend." His wife's face contorted in anger.

"I demand to know what has caused this blatant discourtesy of me," his wife raised her volume. "You disappear for weeks, months at a time, and then have the audacity to come back and talk to me in such away. After neglecting our name, the company, and your position at the prefectural diet."

He knew how competent she was, so to see her brought to such levels of panic by a few simplistic sentences was unexpected. Of course, it was his secretiveness that was jeopardizing her status and image. Nothing was more significant to her than those two things, not even the two things that sat on either side of her. He no longer had an interest in how the sinners or the unknowing of this world viewed it, as an ordained follower of Mekhane, but she was the one who elected to play these little games. She shouldn't have been surprised when one day she would have to cease playing. He'd been around enough to know how sharp her tongue was, the same tongue that alienated her entire family. No, that would be her philosophy and expectations. How such irrelevant things ever caused others such distress, he had no idea.

"F-Father," Haruno piped in. Hitori looked at her daughter, who was glancing between the two nervously. "I think mother-"

"I do not need you to speak for me, Haruno," Ichika cut off her daughter.

"You're getting worked up, Ichika-san," Hitori said with a smirk. His wife gawked at him incredulously, scrutinizing his face.

". . . do you find this amusing?" She said with a voice trembling with barely controlled rage.

"Very much so, actually," Hitori said. Yukino looked at him appalled, and Haruno echoed this reaction. Of course, they would be completely out of their role, or whatever character they had built up to be. Hitori's attitude must have been so confusing, so shocking to them. "I grow tired of this pointless back and forth. Get to your point, I have places I must be."

". . . Fine, if that's what you truly want," Ichika retreated. Before, that would have been a sight to behold, now . . . it was just so pathetic, he could barely stand to look at it. "You've been ignoring your duties in the prefectural diet. I've been receiving remarks from various members and their families about your vacancy."

"I have no business with the diet. Is there anything else?"

"These little excursions of yours have been putting our reputation at risk. Every day I hear our name thrown around as if we were . . . _peasants_." She began to let an icy tone comprise her voice, in a feeble attempt to frighten him back into obedience. She was not used to her husband being unaffected by her, it must have been so unsettling. "What have you been doing on these trips?"

"If you truly wish to know, I shall prepare a meeting with some of the people I have come to know," Hitori smiled. Yes, to hear testimony. Surely someone whose life was changed even more than his own was could do a more reliable job of leading his family down the true path.

"And with what people will we be meeting with?"

". . . Some truly extraordinary people," Hitori said, eyes shining with unreasonable happiness. Unreasonable faith. "People who have found the true path."

"True path?" Ichika said. "Please do not tell me you were squandering your time and overlooking your responsibilities following some variety of delusional spirit club. I was not aware you were so pitiful as to resort to something such as that."

"Hardly so. My faith, the-"

"Faith? Surely you aren't serious."

"Yes. I have joined a church. You have issues with this?"

"Of course I do. Do you have any inkling what this will do to our reputation? Unfortunately, I let this go on for far too long. An affair would be a more favorable situation than this. Setting our name at risk so you can go off and worship some fabricated deity with some asinine failures. Tradition dictates-"

"Ichika," Hitori said, in barely over a whisper. "If you value your life . . . you will quiet your tongue."

Silence reigned over the table. Hitori glared at his wife, anger deeper than anything the latter had seen in her life. Their daughters sat staring at their father in complete fright, unbelieving that their father would have ever uttered those words, much less to their mother and his wife. Hitori did not care. To insult the constituents of the faith to such a degree was an inexcusable transgression, a strike against Mekhane himself who took in the ignorant and broken and built them to heights that average people could never even dream.

". . . What did you just say to me?" His wife defied, but there was a trembling in her voice. Her husband had never frightened her before, but this . . . this was something beyond that. The coldness of his eyes felt like they belonged to a stranger. To someone inhuman.

"You still don't realize, do you?" He said with a hollow voice as if he wasn't even really speaking. "How pathetic you are? How inept? The name, our image, what do things as useless as those have worthy of my attention?"

"I-"

"I told you to silence your tongue before I carve it out," he said in a low tone. His wife fell still, going slightly pale. "Look at yourself. So lost, yet you deceive yourself into a status of authority over others. What authority do you have? I can assure you it is no true one. Would that icy glare stop a blade from tearing through your heart? Would those words give you fulfillment, meaning? At the end of the day, they are as meaningless as everything else you have gone on about. A testament to how pitiful you are. You may think what you want, but I will not stand for disrespect to my Church. Speak like that again, and I will make sure it is the last time you ever speak again."

". . . Y-You-"

It was an instant. In an instant he was out of his chair, ending up behind her. She could not follow him, she was as slow as the rest of the lost, but she felt the moment he stepped behind her. She felt the prick of cold metal against her throat and his hand gripping her shoulder most painfully. His children said nothing, gawking at Yukinoshita Hitori with nothing but complete terror.

"I thought I had told you to quiet your tongue," he said, in the most terrifyingly calm voice he had. Why should he waste anger over these pitiful creatures?

His wife shook under his grasp, a mix of anger and horror at the current situation she had found herself in. He was mistaken to believe that these people would be salvageable. They would remain ignorant until the end of their days. No, his wife would. His children, there was still hope for _them_. They could still attain the path to Mekhane. They could still be saved.

*_KNOCK_,_ KNOCK, KNOCK._*

Three harsh knocks against the front door got his attention. He looked over to the front door, standing slowly. There was never any visitors to this place, very few people knew where they lived. That shortlist included of course His Holiness, but Mr. Bumaro wasn't one who left his study for personal visits, he had too much to study and prepare for the coming conflicts. There was a possibility it was an enemy, and if so, it wasn't one he couldn't handle.

Standing up, he walked over to the door, talking slow deliberate steps as he tried to guess at the possible person who was at the door.

_*KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK._*

Hitori opened the door.

In the hall, a disheveled man stood, slightly shaking. Hitori could recognize signs of heightened adrenaline, but that was not what he cared about. No, he cared about the look of hopeless anger in this man's eyes. This man had been broken recently, he could tell. He recognized the look he had when before he had found Mekhane. This was a lost soul, a broken cog. One that he could lead back to the repairing hands of the Broken God. Hitori smiled.

"How may I help you, sir?"

"Is this the Yukinoshita residence?" He asked, voice slightly slurred and smelt heavy with alcohol.

"Yes. How may I help?"

In an instant, the face of the stranger changed. The anger in his eyes switched to madness as red liquid started to fall from his mouth and ears, filling his eyes.

"_The time for retribution, ticker._"

* * *

.

.

.

". . . And that's it," Hachiman finished.

"I see . . ." Lucy said, looking out the window. She seemed to be deep in thought for a moment, before turning to the Japanese teen. "What do you think?"

"Well, of course, each option has its problems. If we stay, we might have some level of security, but we'd probably be expected to fight for them. Forget the mortality rate, just exposing ourselves is in such a way to the people we just escaped from is dangerous enough."

"They probably think I have some supernatural powers that could help me fight like you. Except that I don't," She said, deflating.

"And not to mention we don't know how exactly I'm canceling out your . . . influence. We don't know the conditions that have to be met to keep you safe. It could be temporary, it could be permanent. I don't want to risk getting far away from you if I don't know what I have to do," He said.

"Well, it might be a proximity thing," Lucy said. "When Jasmine and I ran out into the alleyway, the pastor looked right at me and didn't try anything."

". . . Even if it's that, we don't know the range and I don't want to test it out."

"Yeah . . ."

"But if we leave, we'll be on our own. No support or place to stay, constantly looking over our shoulders for the Foundation and others, but we won't be actively seeking them out." Hachiman said.

"It seems that staying would be just somewhat safer, at least we would have people helping us," she said.

Hachiman stared up at the ceiling, uncertain of where to go from here. Staying did seem safer, but he wondered if the dangers they would have to face would be worth it. Not to mention going up against military forces with unknowable amounts of resources and background in things like this, as opposed to him who had only about a day or two of experience. But what choice did he have? Nowhere to go, nowhere to turn to, no one else to help them, they were kind of forced into a corner with this. Damn it, they probably knew that when they asked them, the bastards.

". . . What do you want to do?" Lucy asked him. He turned to look at her.

"I don't know. I don't want to needlessly risk my life or your safety, but I don't see any other options open right now." He watched her eyes gravitate towards the ground. "What do you want to do?"

". . . I don't know . . ."

They sat in silence for a short while after that. Hachiman turned his gaze back towards the ceiling, racking his brain for any other alternative options. It seemed like the most desirable choice in this situation was to join them, but the risks and drawbacks far exceeded the potential benefits. But it was that or a life of being on the run and homelessness. He wished he was more skilled at analyzing this kind of stuff. He had no frame of reference against it as if he was trying to paint without ever having picked up even a pencil before.

". . . Maybe it'll be good to join them," Lucy said. "It'll be a bit safer. And Jasmine seems pleasant enough."

"Maybe," Hachiman said. Honestly, being some kind of soldier didn't appeal to him, but if that was what he had to do then there was no helping it he supposed. "Whatever you want to do, I'm with you."

". . . Okay," Lucy said.

They fell into silence again. Hachiman glanced at the girl once. She had begun to read her bible, but there was this faraway expression on her face, her mind most likely occupied with other things. He looked back up to the ceiling, beginning to reflect on the recent events of the past day or so. So much had happened, in such little time. Would this just be their lives from now one, every day filled with constant . . . _things_ happening? He would get very stressed, very quickly. He might not know much, but he felt that this shouldn't have been the norm.

"Hachiman?" Lucy said out of nowhere.

"Yeah?"

"Remember when you had that banter with Jay a little bit ago?"

". . . I would think so, seeing as how it was about 10 minutes ago. Why?"

"How did you know what to say?" Lucy asked. Hachiman shifted his gaze to face her.

"What do you mean?"

"There was a lot of slang you said. I was just wondering how you knew what to say."

"Well . . ." Hachiman thought for a second. "I don't know. I guess it was just instinct."

". . . I have an idea."

"Well, let's hear it then."

"You said you didn't remember anything, but what if you did, but just wasn't able to, like, consciously remember it?"

". . . I'm pretty sure that's the definition of 'can't remember anything,' bud."

"No, like, you have the memories, but they're just . . . _hidden_."

"How do you hide memories?" Hachiman asked incredulously.

"How do you set yourself on fire?"

". . . Fair point."

"You have the memories subconsciously, but just can't access them consciously. That would explain how you can't remember anything but still have enough knowledge about slang to banter like that."

"Hm. That theory might have some merit," Hachiman said, looking up at the ceiling. "Say I do have these memories locked down deep in my mind. How're we supposed to unlock them?"

"I don't know. In the movies, whenever someone lost their memories it just came back on its own."

"I don't think movies are analogous to this situation, Luce." Lucy rolled her eyes.

"I know that, I just using it as an example, jerk." She said, with the minutest sign of playfulness in her voice. "But we live in a world full of things that can do . . . _anything_. Surely there's something out there that can restore memory."

". . ."

"What's wrong?"

". . . I'm just thinking . . . what if I got my memories taken away for a reason?" Lucy rolled her eyes.

"The Foundation-"

"No, I mean like a good reason? Like . . . what if something bad happened to me?"

"Like what?"

". . ."

...

_". . . what did you do to me?"  
__". . . burning . . . everything was . . . burning . . ."  
__". . . where . . . why am I . . ._ _AAAAAA_AA**AHHHH!**_" _(**1**)

...

". . . I don't know. Like anything? I just . . . never mind." He closed his eyes, letting out a breath. "I guess we could look around."

Was he scared of what he could remember? Of course, he was terrified. Even that small tidbit of something that could be a memory was terrifying in and of itself. What else could he remember? With what he could gather about himself through the small hints of what was supposed to be his past . . . well, his life was shit. Hell, his life was shit right now, could it have been that much better before if it got him to this point? Plus, the scars on his body didn't bode well for his mental health if he got them in some horrifying fashion.

But what if it was worth it? He had friends at some point, didn't he? He had a family. Those people in the laptop actually existed, it wasn't all in his head. So what was he scared of? Even if he had gone through some traumatic experience, surely it would still be worth it to remember the bonds he had before this. But what if they were the trauma? What if they were all dead, or worse? Wait, what's worse than death? He supposed a lot of things.

He was a person before. He was just a shell now. Even if it was painful, it had to be better than being . . . nothing. Not even that, but close to nothing. It had to be.

*KNOCK,_ KNOCK, KNOCK._*

Hachiman looked to the door.

"Come in!" He yelled. The door opened, and Jasmine walked in with Jay and D in tow. Jay smiled at the boy while D was giving him such a murderous look he could've called the police and gotten her locked up on the spot. "How are you now?"

"Good, and you?" Jay answered.

"Eh, not so bad."

"We just wanted to give you the news that Mama Trudy would be in tomorrow," Jasmine said. Hachiman shifted his gaze to her. She looked slightly away when they made eye contact, coming off as slightly timid. She must have been shaken up when he had guessed her little dilemma so easily earlier.

"'Kay."

"And there's going to be a meeting tonight with some of the members if you wanted to join."

"Thank you, but I think I've had too much excitement for the last couple of days. I just want to relax for a bit," Lucy piped in.

"Likewise," Hachiman agreed.

"Oh, all right," Jasmine said. D looked at her strangely, before going back to glaring at Hachiman. "Um, Hachiman, would it be fine if we talk with Lucy in private?"

"Okay, but why though?"

"We just wanted to get to know her side of things," D cut in, glaring harder. Hachiman ignored her and looked over at Lucy.

"It's fine," she assured him. Hachiman shrugged and stood up.

"Welp, I'll be outside," he said. "You," he pointed to Jay, "come with me."

"'Kay," Jay chirped.

"Wait, why him?" Jasmine asked, turning to look at Hachiman.

"Lucy'll probably tell you," was all he said, before walking out of the room with Jay following close behind. "Play nice, kids."

As the door closed behind them, he looked at Jay.

"So, do you guys have, like, a T.V., or something?"

"Sure, there's a T.V. in my room."

"'Kay. Pitter-patter."

* * *

_Warning, slightly disturbing scene. Ends next Line break._

* * *

(Lucy's POV)

"So, Lucy, is it?" D started off after having sat on the bed opposite from Lucy.

"Yes," she said, slightly uncomfortable being alone with these strangers.

"My name's Diana, but you can just call me D," the tanned-girl said. "You already know Jasmine."

"Hi," Jasmine said lightly from D's side.

"From what I hear, you've been through a lot today."

"It's been . . . quite eventful, I should say."

"I'm sure you want nothing more than to just lay down and pass out right now, but we just have to ask you a few things first and then we'll be out of your hair."

"Okay?" Lucy did like the sound of sleeping in an actual bed given the events of the past week or so. First, being trapped underground in a dark cell, then meeting Hachiman, getting run off the road, almost dying, walking a _lot_ without shoes on, and those things at the church. Honestly, she was surprised she wasn't asleep right now. "But, why did Hachiman have to leave for this?"

"We'll get to him later, we just think you might benefit from receiving this first."

"Okay . . ."

"Well, first, we'd like to know about Hachiman."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, what kind of person he is? We don't want someone dangerous living with us, you know?"

"I . . . I don't know him that much, I suppose. But from what I have seen, he is a good person. At heart, at least."

"Could have fooled me," D said as an aside.

"He can be a bit . . . harsh with his words, but I'm sure that's not what he's really like."

"What do you mean by that?" Jasmine piped in, leaning a little forward. "From the way you guys talk to each other, I would think you're close enough to know what he's really like."

"Well . . . I've only really known him for a couple of days," Lucy said, shifting awkwardly on the bed. "I can't really say for sure what kind of person he is. He's dependable, at least."

"You just met him? Then why are you guys traveling together?"

"Well, yeah. The story's . . . a little more complex than that. God, it doesn't even feel like it's been a couple of days, with everything that's happened. If it weren't for him, I would have been dead at least three times over."

"Well, that bodes well, at least. Honestly, I was a little worried you were forced to go along with him."

". . . He wouldn't force me to go with him, although I guess I am a little stuck with him."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, I guess you've seen what he can do."

"Yeah, he went all human torch on his arm."

"That, and he can nullify-"

"Have you always been so pretty?" Jasmine said, gazing at her. D rolled her eyes.

"Sorry, she usually doesn't take things seriously. Anyways, I'm guessing you must have some experience with people like Hachiman."

"You could say that," Lucy said, glancing at Jasmine as the girl was staring at her with a strange look in her eyes. "I have anomalous properties myself, although they're a little more . . . well, I have something here that can explain it better than I can."

Lucy reached into a drawer, pulling out the file she had been carrying with her. D's eyes widened at the sight of a familiar symbol on top of it.

"The Foundation?" D asked, looking up to Lucy. The blonde girl nodded.

"Hachiman and I were SCPs at one of their sites. We escaped not too long ago," Lucy said as she handed D her the file.

"How'd you manage to do that?"

". . . We don't know. About a week ago, the lights in my cell suddenly went out. Early in the morning yesterday, Hachiman dug me out of the rubble of the site. It was completely decimated, and a couple of the anomalies they had been holding escaped."

"That's so cool," Jasmine said, still staring at the blonde. Lucy looked at the rainbow-headed girl strangely.

"Wait, a week ago?" D asked her.

"I think so. It felt like it, at least, I couldn't really tell the time."

"There was a series of large earthquakes around that time. There's no way that's a coincidence," D said, looking down at the ground in thought. "Plus the idea of an entire SCP facility being destroyed . . . I'm not losing sleep over it, but something or someone that could do _that_ is something that we have to look out for."

"Lucy, when _did_ you get so pretty?" Jasmine asked.

"Really, Jaz, it was funny for a second, but now you're just being annoying," D said, looking down at the paper Lucy had given her. Lucy looked at Jasmine nervously.

"I'm just saying, like . . . like, you are really, _really_ pretty,"

". . . Are you feeling okay, Jasmine?" Lucy asked, scooting back uncomfortably on the bed. Jasmine scooted forward slightly, keeping an equal distance between them.

"I'm fine."

". . . Okay," she said, worried.

"Oh, you were saying something about Hachiman earlier?" Not looking up from the paper.

"Hm?"

"When Jaz interrupted you?"

"Oh, he can nullify anomalous properties," Lucy said. "We don't-"

"Hey, Lucy?" Jasmine piped in. "You look really sexy right now." The blonde girl glared at the rainbow-headed one. "Like . . . like . . . I don't know, you just seem so _sexy_. Have you always been this sexy?"

". . . I don't really appreciate jokes like that, Jasmine," Lucy said quietly. The rainbow-headed girl seemed unfazed by this, still gazing at her like . . . that look was familiar, but . . . no, that didn't make sense. Jasmine was a girl, so-

"Jaz, we need to go," D said out of nowhere, dropping Lucy's papers and standing up. "We can finish this later."

"I don't want to go," Jasmine said, not looking away from Lucy. There were clouds in her eyes as if the only thing she could see was Lucy. The blonde girl slid back on her bed until her back was against the wall. D grabbed Jasmine's arm, dragging her towards the door.

"LET GO OF ME!" Jasmine yelled suddenly, pulling against D's grip. The tanned girl looked scared, trying with all her might to pull Jasmine out of the room. The rainbow girl pushed her off, stepping towards Lucy's bed. "Lucy, Lucy, you look so . . . you look so . . ."

"Jasmine, you're scaring me." Lucy squeaked out with a shaky voice. D grabbed her from behind, trying once again to drag her to the door.

"I SAID LET GO!" Jasmine yelled, swinging around and hitting D in the side of her head. The other girl fell to the ground, momentarily stunned. Jasmine turned and lunged at Lucy.

"STOP!" Lucy kicked out, Jasmine grabbing her leg. That look, that look, that look. "STOP! STOP!" Lucy was kicking and screaming against Jasmine, but the rainbow-headed girl remained unfazed, fighting against Lucy's attacks to try and get closer to her. "PLEASE, STOP! GET OFF ME! STOP!"

"Lucy! Lucy! Lucy!" The other girl had resorted to repeating her name over and over as she stared at her with a crazed look. Lucy started to panic, breath getting quicker and tears rolling down her face as she fought desperately, kicking and scratching. Lucy's clothes were starting to stretch and tear in the other girl's hands.

There was a crash heard somewhere to the side, and Jasmine was yanked backward. Lucy pushed herself into the corner immediately, grabbing the pillow that was sitting on her bed and holding it out in front of her like a shield, tears streaming down her face.

* * *

_End Scene_

* * *

(Hachiman's POV)

The japanese teen rushed towards the room Lucy was in as soon as he heard the screaming. He pushed past several people on the way there, who were just standing and staring down the hallway in confusion. Hachiman got to the door and kicked it down in one swift movement. He saw Lucy and Jasmine fighting on the bed, and immediately grabbed the rainbow-headed girl and yanked her back, wrapping his arms around her stomach to pin her arms to her sides. She started flailing against him, and he had to turn his head when she tried to headbutt him. He dropped her to the ground and held her arms to the ground as she screamed.

D was up off the ground, the side of her head slightly bleeding as she came over and held onto one of her arms so that Hachiman could get the other one.

"Hey! Hey, calm down!" Hachiman yelled, holding the girl down. She was still thrashing against his grip, screaming Lucy's name over and over. He looked over to the blonde girl, who was cowering behind the pillow and crying slightly, hiding her face from view.

"Jaz, calm down!" D said. Hachiman looked down at the girl, and grabbed her face in one hand, forcing her to look at him. As he stared into her eyes, they looked slightly glazed over. They made eye contact, and she froze.

"Calm the fuck down already!" He yelled. She stared at him, and the thrashing ceased as the girl stared into her eyes.

". . . Hachiman?" She asked, the glazed look leaving her eyes.

"You calm now?" He asked, still holding her face.

". . . Yeah . . ." she whispered out. He slowly let go of her, backing up. D stood her up immediately and led her away. Hachiman couldn't help but notice the look on her face, something of a mix of shock and horror. As they left, Hachiman turned to Lucy.

"Hey, you okay, bud?" He spoke softly to her. She didn't answer, whimpering behind the pillow. "Lucy, it's me, all right?"

The girl glanced over the pillow, staring at him. She looked him in the eyes for a second, before launching at him, grabbing him in a bear hug. She held him close, sobbing into his chest. He held her steady as she shook against him, trying to comfort the girl.

"I'm right here, it's okay," He said softly, squeezing her slightly.

He didn't want to think about what almost happened here. He didn't want to think that he almost let it happen by leaving her alone. He had no idea, although he knew Jasmine had some stuff to explain to them. Right now, he had to worry about Lucy. He continued to talk to her softly, although he didn't know exactly what he said. It was sort of just random reassurances, but it was all he could do.

.

.

.

He had no idea how long she had cried for, but after a while, the sobbing had died down. She wasn't shaking anymore, just holding the boy.

"Lucy?" He asked. She didn't respond. "Lucy, I'm going to go close the door, okay?"

She nodded slightly. He slowly untangled himself from her arms. As he did, she resorted to holding herself, staring blankly ahead as she laid on the bed. He walked over to the door, closing it as much as he could with the broken door handle. He at least blocked the view from outside before turning back and walking to the bed. He sat down next to her, although he gave her a little distance. He put a hand on her shoulder, continuing his effort in comforting the girl.

Looking outside, he could see it was dark outside. That was fine, it was time they both got some sleep anyway.

". . . Hachiman?" Lucy croaked out, her voice strained from the sobbing earlier.

"Yeah?"

". . . please don't leave me . . ."

". . . Okay."

Lucy shifted so that her head was laying on his lap. Hachiman looked out the window, staring at the starry night sky. He knew what had happened, but he didn't know why. Well, he knew _why_, but . . . Forget it, he would worry about that later. Lucy should have the top priority right now. Geez, what was he going to do? He doubted anything he could say would make things better for her, but even if it could, he had no idea what he would say. He had no idea what he would even do from here on out. He couldn't leave her alone, given what just happened.

But she said it was fine when they were alone in the alleyway. What was the difference? What had he been doing around that time? He had no idea, he had blacked out for that entire event. Ugh, this was all too stressful for him. With a sigh, he leaned his head slightly so that it was propped against the wall. He would just slip out and go to the other bed when Lucy fell asleep. He closed his eyes and let himself relax, keeping a hand on Lucy's shoulder to keep her calm. What did he do to relax? He did something?

". . . _J'affronte la vie comme un aveugle avec un walkman . . . Comme une anomalie dans leur programme . . . Vos rêves sont mes cauchemars . ._ ." How did the next part go? ". . . _Un jour, on est venus au monde . . . Depuis, on attend que le monde vienne à nous . . . Tant mieux si la route est longue . . . On pourra faire un peu plus de détours . . . L'avenir appartient à ceux qui s'lèvent à l'heure où j'me couche . . . L'avenir appartient à ceux qui s'lèvent à l'heure où j'me couche._" (**2**)

.

.

.

* * *

Hitori Yukinoshita was thrown back, sliding along the floor of his apartment. There was a cut in his shirt that ran along his chest but hadn't yet drawn blood. He looked up, seeing that _thing_ standing in the doorway.

The newcomer was standing in the doorway, staring the man down. His arm was twisted and morphed into something that was supposed to resemble a sword, bones lining the outside of it as a serrated edge. Hitori stood to full height, grabbing his shirt and looking down on it.

"This was expensive," He commented. "Although, I assume you don't care about that, Fleshcrafter."

Off to the side, his family stood against the wall, his wife shielding their children with her arms as they all looked at the man in confusion and horror. They weren't going to call out to him, but he knew they were dependent on him for their survival.

So pathetic.

"With the slaughter of this blasphemer, I will rise to the rank of Karcist," the Fleshcrafter spoke to himself, grinning madly.

"You're truly are a foolish bunch, aren't you?" Hitori said, silently powering up his augmentations.

"We, foolish?" The Sarkic smiled, a mouth full of fangs. "Are you not the ones who tear off pieces, only to be a pale imitation of your pitiful God? You are but sheep following a useless idol. We, however, have reached godhood."

"Godhood, huh?" Hitori could have laughed if there was not the taste of vomit in his mouth. "You call that pathetic body worthy of being a god?"

"I suppose I've let you speak enough," the Fleshcrafter said, his other hand twisted and morphing with the sounds of tearing flesh and snapping bones.

"How did you find me?" Hitori questioned, set on getting some information out of the "man" before he killed him.

"Why does the business of the living matter to a dead man?" The Fleshcrafter said.

Without another word, he launched forward at Hitori. The Japanese man barely flinched at this, expertly dodging a swipe from the deformed body. Such flesh in this state was so disgusting, insulting even. It made him sick to his stomach. Forget the information, he needed to wipe this _thing_ off the face of this planet. He jumped back as the Fleshcrafter swung down. The blade of flesh and bone broke through the wood of the floor. Hitori barely acknowledged this.

With a swift kick to the side of the head, the Fleshcrafter was sent flying across the apartment. It crashed through the glass sliding door of the balcony, nearly flying off the building had it not been for the railing it crashed into.

"Such a disgusting creature has the audacity to not only come into my home but attack me? You must have come here planning to die, _Sarkic_," Hitori spat the last word with such venom it surprised even himself. Although it was understandable, such creatures as these were truly the scum of this earth.

"Such an unnatural creature has the audacity to disrespect me. You must be ready to die, ticker." The Fleshcrafter stood up on its feet, blood dripping down the side of its face from the force of the kick. "I will tear you piece by piece, and you will be a great sacrifice for my God."

"You seem to not understand your own delusion, Sarkic. Perhaps I should remind you of it."

Hitori held his hand out, and out of his palm, a burning stream of lightning shot out. It consumed the Fleshcrafter, the screams of pain and burning flesh filled the air, although they fell silent on his ears. This was the fate of followers of the Flesh God, people so deluded they would follow something so disgusting and horrifying such as that god. Hitori frowned, watching the last traces of flesh burnt to ashes by the power of the Broken God.

He had battled a Karcist before, and this was no Karcist. While disgusting, they were far more formidable than this. This was an idiotic Sarkic, one who had barely tasted the fruits of the Flesh God before being drug into delusions of godhood. Only Mekhane was a true god, to think a mere human could reach the level of a God was . . . laughable. Perfection was attainable, through the advancement of the mind and releasing of earthly coils and desires. To think that mutilating yourself into some disgusting creature was the path to becoming a God . . .

These people were truly insane.

Still, it would do Hitori good to remember that these insane things followed a pattern. Where there was one, there were others. Like a colony of roaches, skitting around and infecting everything. He would notify his Holiness first, before gaining reinforcements to hunt down the rest of these insects.

After he was done burning the body of the _thing_, there was naught but traces of ash all over his balcony, waiting to be washed away. As if they had never been there in the first place.

"How repugnant," Hitori stated to himself, before turning back to his family.

His wife had found the time to grab a knife, holding it in front of her with a shaky grip. It was so sad, seeing such a proud woman reduced to a shuddering mess in the face of real danger, real death. Someone like her should be stronger than that, but Hitori learned long ago not to give the ignorant too much credit.

"Y-You stay back!" She yelled, voice breaking with fear. It was so pathetic.

". . . Perhaps I have been foolish," Hitori mused aloud. "I am consumed with love for my god, so great that even His Holiness could even know, but I am not a fool. I know the human condition, how it affects the mind. But I will not abandon the lost, especially you. For that would be a disassembly of something, and any form of disassembly is an insult against the Fractured one."

"I said stay back!" She was near hysterical now. It was of little use. Perhaps soon, when _it _happened, he would come back and save them. For now, however, they were truly lost.

"There will be people here soon to clean up the mess," he told them simply. "I hope if anything, this event has opened your eyes to the state you live in. Know that your salvation can only come through the shedding of your own flesh, letting go of your flawed human nature."

His shirt started to fall off his body, the heat from his augmentations being activated burning through them. It dropped in pieces, revealing the mostly metal body underneath. He had spent too long hiding the grace of Mekhane, but no longer. His lord was too great to treat as something to be ashamed of, it was downright sinful. No, he would wear his new body with pride, a sign of his devotion and worship to the Broken God. His family stared in fear and awe as he walked past them, barely giving a second glance as he headed out to find more of the insects scuttling around Chiba.

He could understand why his family looked so scared. They did not understand, could not. Not yet, at least. But it did not concern him. After, they were broken as well. They would find their way to Assembly, or they would be lost forever. This was the way it simply was. He could not wait for them, there was simply too much to do and he did not care enough for them.

"Patience is a virtue best left for God," he mused to himself.

* * *

_._

_._

_._

_Knock, knock, knock._

Hachiman woke up to the sound of soft knocking on the door. He blinked the grogginess out of his eyes and looked around him. The room was still dark, as was the sky outside.

_Knock, knock, knock._

"_Hachiman_?" Jay's voice called through the door. "_Are you still asleep?_" Hachiman looked down at the girl on his lap, who was still asleep. He slowly slid out from under her, careful not to disturb her. He stood up and massaged his neck, which was sore from the position he fell asleep in. He walked over to the door and pulled it open slowly, seeing as it was neither closed nor locked.

"Hey, what's up?" He said quietly, stepping out and closing the door behind him. Jay looked unkempt, hair ruffled and bags under his eyes, most likely due to a lack of sleep. The effeminate boy looked up at Hachiman with a timid and tired pleading look.

"It's Jasmine. She's . . . she's not right." That's right, he forgot about Jasmine. It's not like he blamed her for what went down, it wasn't her fault, but she hadn't been his top priority at the moment. "She's sat up on the roof, but she won't talk to anyone. I don't know what happened, but . . ."

"Why'd you come to me?"

"Everyone's already tried. Me, D, and some of her other friends, but she won't listen to any of us," Jay looked like he was about to start crying. "D said since you were involved, she might listen to you."

_. . . That does make sense, but I don't think now's the right time to leave Lucy alone. Even if she's asleep, I don't think she'd appreciate it_.

"Sorry, but I have to stay with Lucy right now. I'm sure there's someone else around here that can get through to her."

"There's no one else!" Jay whisper-yelled. "Please, all right, I . . . I don't know what to do . . ."

Hachiman looked down at the boy, who was staring up at him with pleading eyes. Jeez, what a mess this was.

". . . Look, just . . . wait here one second?" Jay nodded expectantly, and Hachiman closed the door. He sighed and looked over to Lucy. If he left, there was little chance that she would wake up before he came back. But he didn't want to take the chance that she might, not to mention that she shouldn't really be alone right now. Maybe he should ask her if . . . no, that wouldn't be fair to her. She was still recovering from the incident too, she-

"_Hachiman?_" Her voice called out from the darkened room. Hachiman turned, looking at the girl. She hadn't moved, but he could see she was awake now.

"_Hey, buddy,_" he whispered, walking over to her side. "_How are you feeling?_"

". . ._ I'm fine,_" she said, barely audible. "_Who was at the door?_"

"_It was just that Jay guy, don't worry. Get some rest, okay?_"

". . . _It's not her fault . . ._" Hachiman looked at the girl for a second before letting out a sigh.

"_I know that . . . just get some rest, 'kay?_"

"_You should check on her._" Hachiman was slightly caught off guard, before putting a hand on the girl's shoulder. She seemed to slightly relax at that.

"_You need someone to be here for you right now._"

". . . _I've learned how to deal with it,_" she said simply. "_But I don't want her to bear the weight of what happened. Especially since it wasn't her fault._"

"_But_-"

"_You can help me later, but help her first. Please._" Hachima went silent for a minute, staring at the blonde girl. She was making eye contact with him, her eyes pleading.

". . ._ Okay. If that's what you want._"

"_Thank you,_" She said, giving him a small smile. "_But come back soon . . . please._"

"_Don't worry. I'll be right back_."

Hachiman stood up and left the room, looking back at the girl one last time before exiting, closing the door behind him. He looked to Jay, he was staring up at him expectantly.

". . . Where is she?"

.

.

.

Hachiman stepped out onto the roof, looking down the slope to see a familiar head of rainbow hair lying along with the shillings. It looked like a precarious position, especially this high up, but he had a feeling she had done this multiple times before. He looked back at Jay, who gave him one last pleading look, before closing the door behind him. Hachiman glanced at the girl and slowly made his way down the roof. It was sort of slippery, but thankfully he had shoes now.

"You do this a lot?" He asked as he settled down next to her. The girl didn't answer, turning her gaze to the side and away from him. He could tell just by the look on her face she was feeling immensely guilty. He laid back and looked to the sky. "I can see the appeal . . . It's got a nice view."

She said nothing.

_Looks like being natural isn't going to work, huh?_ Hachiman thought to himself. Should he just jump right into it? Welp, here goes nothing.

". . . Look, I don't mean to be . . . _invasive_ or anything. I hear that's supposed to be a bad thing, but if you need to talk about it or anything . . ."

"Why do you even care? I could have hurt your friend, you know. Really badly."

". . . well, yeah, but I know it wasn't your fault. She doesn't blame you either."

"I do, though," Jasmine fully turned her back to him.

". . . I kinda figured that." Hachiman simply said, staring at the back of her head. "It's not doing anyone any good to just sit up here hating yourself, though. Your friends are worried about you. Jay was practically in tears when he came to get me."

"There was no need. I'm used to handling on my own." That was the second time he heard something like that tonight.

"I don't doubt that. I can't pretend to understand what you're feeling, but it _really_ wasn't your fault," he looked up to the sky. "Just an unfortunate circumstance, no way either of you could have known."

". . . Why aren't you with her right now? She needs you more than I do."

"Honestly, I think so, too. But, she insisted that I try and help you first."

". . ."

". . . I don't know how she's handling it, but I'm sure if you still felt guilty over it she wouldn't be able to get over it either."

". . . I guess . . . I don't know . . . for some reason it feels . . . _wrong_ being consoled in this situation."

"You had no control over your actions, and we stopped anything from happening . . ."

". . . I fucking hate myself," Jasmine said, voice breaking slightly. "I thought . . . I don't know . . ."

"Are you scared to tell me?"

". . . A little . . ."

"Don't worry. If you're not ready to tell, you don't have to, but I'm not going to judge you."

". . . I've only ever told D about it, but . . . I just feel like it'd freak people out."

"Nothing's freakier than me," Hachiman said in confidence, putting his arms behind his head as he laid his head on them.

"Hell no, your style of freaky is a hell of a lot cooler. I'd rather be able to shoot fire out of my everything than . . . "

". . . You know, I think its too much for you to tackle by yourself."

"Oh, so you're the expert on my feelings now?" She turned on her back, dark green eyes staring up to the sky.

"No. But I probably haven't gone through nearly as much as you have and I still had a hard time managing it all. I know that you're probably fairing a lot worse than I am," He said. "If it helps, you don't have to share everything. Only whatever you're comfortable with."

"I wasn't going to do that in the first place . . ." Jasmine went silent, staring up at the sky. "You know, you're actually pretty nice to listen to when you're trying to be friendly. You should do it a lot more often.

Hachiman stared at her, trying to focus on the words she might say next. He couldn't help but notice how extremely pretty she was.

". . . I don't even know what happened. It was like . . . I just wanted her so badly, and I don't know why. I was completely aware, but it was like I was just overcome by this immense feeling of . . ._ want._ It wasn't me, but it was. I can't even say it wasn't me doing it, I was still aware of it all, I just . . . couldn't control the impulse. It was like I was someone else entirely, but I was still _me_. It was . . . terrifying. I still don't know what happened, although D told me a little bit. Looks like when I thought life couldn't get more shitty, more shit just seems to pop up."

Hachiman laid there, watching the girl reflect on herself. Maybe she was talking to him, maybe it was to herself. But she was talking at least.

". . . It was one day where my life went to absolute shit. I never had a period before, as unrelated as that sounds. By the time I was 13 my mum started to get worried. One day, though, I started to get like this dull pain in my stomach, and my, uh, breasts starting to get a bit bigger. My mum was practically singing 'Hallelujah, my daughter's a woman,' but there was never any bleeding. After about two weeks, the pain was still there. It started spreading to my back and chest, it started getting a bit harder to breathe. One day I just started coughing up blood. When I was in the hospital, they couldn't figure out what the hell was wrong with me, until they did an x-ray or MRI or something. Turns out, I had a tumor on my left testicle."

". . . So you're a guy?"

"Yeah, and no. I got something called '_Male Psuedo Hermaphroditus._' The way the docs explained it, when you're in the womb you start as female, then go down one of two roads based on your genes. 'XX', you're biologically female, and 'XY,' you're biologically male. See, outside I look female, but I have the genes of a guy. I'm completely immune to testosterone, so I grew up without any guy features, and my testes are trapped up inside me, even though I have boobs and . . . female-looking stuff down there.

Anyway, my mum, well, she was downright horrified. Before I started treatment, she just up and left me and my dad. Looked at me like some kind of abomination. She was always the more religious conservative one anyways. My dad stuck around at least, although you could tell he had no idea what the hell to do. I wasn't his little girl anymore, but I wasn't his little boy either. I was just this _thing_ he had to take care of. After I was discharged, he decided that he would start raising me like a guy. Started calling me 'Harold' or 'Harry' and shit like that. Wouldn't buy me anything feminine.

Me, I was still iffy about this whole thing. I didn't know what to think, what to do. My entire identity was torn away in a moment. But I knew whatever I wanted, it was something I wanted to figure out for myself, not something someone else to push on me. I pushed back, of course, started rebelling. The more masculine he tried to make me the more feminine I balanced it with. I stopped going to his services, I started hanging out in the 'bad side of town.' Even got a couple of tattoos, just cause. I think I've had this hairstyle for . . . two years now? He freaked out when I came home with it, but he couldn't do anything. Whatever relationship we had just got more and more strained.

I think what finally broke it was when I found out that he was consulting doctors for sex-change surgery or something, and I had no idea about it. We argued a lot that afternoon. I've forgotten everything he said that day, and honestly, I didn't care. That night I packed up and I ran, and I never went back until . . . well, you know."

". . . I see." Hachiman looked back up to the sky, watching the clouds shoot by over the stars. The pale moonlight seemed a little too cold for his liking, but he guessed someone like Jasmine would thrive in this condition. What could he say to this? He had no idea. He was nothing but clueless about this type of thing, but he wanted to do . . . _something_ to comfort her. He supposed just talking would have to do for now.

"I just . . . I don't know . . ."

"You just felt the only way to stay yourself was to push against him. At least, that's what I think. You wanted to choose who you were, but it felt like the only options were what he wanted and what he didn't want," Hachiman finished. Jasmine looked over at him, but he was still facing the sky. "Which also explains why you were trying so hard to get me to like you. You wanted to be accepted for the version of yourself you were putting out. You wanted to believe the 'you' you were being was the true 'you.'"

"So, what, I'm just a fake?"

"You said your dad isn't in your life anymore, right? The way I see it, by using him as a force to act against, the entire persona you built relied on his objection. Now that you don't have anything to push against, you're almost falling apart. The anger you felt against your dad was the thing that ultimately held you together."

". . . Yeah, I guess you're right."

"You're something that you felt you needed to be given what you were going up against. It's not a bad thing per se, but you can only wear a mask for so long before it begins to suffocate you," Hachiman glanced at her, making eye contact. "That force is gone now. So then this is your chance to truly decide who _you_ are, without the influence of anyone else."

"We're always influenced by others, Hachiman. No matter how much we wish we weren't."

"Then this is your chance to make a decision for yourself. Or do we not make our own decisions either?"

"You're a dick," Jasmine said with a chuckle. ". . . But I guess I'll take your advice. As long as you take mine."

"About being more friendly? Nah, I think I'm good the way I am."

"So you can criticize me all you want, but I don't get that same luxury?" She smiled. Her smile was . . . it felt a lot nicer than her smirk. Like she felt completely at ease doing it. He turned his face so that she couldn't see the blush that was appearing on his face.

"I'll think about it," he said simply, leaving it at that.

There was a long moment of silence where no one was really saying anything. Hachiman could feel Jasmine's gaze on him, although this didn't feel as if it was boring into the back of his skull. It felt . . . curious. How a gaze you can't see feels curious is something he didn't understand, but he supposed it was just one of the things he could do. After a moment, Jasmine's light laughing broke the silence.

"What's so funny?"

"I just realized something about your name, ha." She said. Hachiman blinked. "Hachiman? Hachi? Like, number eight?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I guess it is. How'd you know that?"

"I started getting good with numbers in foreign languages . . . I guess you're just 8-man, then."

"Just numbers, tho? Oh, you were too lazy to learn more than that, huh?"

"Shut up," She chuckled, sitting up. "Come on, Lucy's probably starting to get worried."

"Yeah," He said, following the girl's actions. "Hey."

Jasmine looked over at him, staring him in the eyes. Somehow, she looked different than she did before. More . . . natural? Real? Whatever it was, it felt nice to see her like that, even if she still had a pang of slight guilt in her eyes.

"Talk to your friends. They're worried about you."

"Will do . . . thanks, Hachiman."

Hachiman walked across the roof, opening the door. He looked back at Jasmine, who blinked in confusion, before blushing slightly and walking through it herself. He took one last look outside. The night sky felt cold, but it also looked peaceful. He thought to himself that he wouldn't mind it if it was like that all the time.

With one last click, the door was closed.

* * *

(**1**) Chapter 2 opening scene

(**2**) Casseurs Flowters - _À l'heure où je me couche - _When I go to bed.  
". . . I'm facing life like a blind man with a Walkman . . . Like an anomaly in their program . . . your dreams are my nightmares . . ."  
". . .One day we came into the world . . . Since then we've been waiting for the world to come to us . . . It's only for the better that the route is long . . . We'll be able to take a few more detours . . . The future belongs to those who get up when I go to bed . . . The future belongs to those who get up when I go to bed . . ."


End file.
